The basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons have long been thought to be involved in behavioral wakefulness and cortical activation. However, owing to the heterogeneity of BF neurons and poor selectivity of traditional methods, the precise role of BF cholinergic neurons in regulating the sleep-wake cycle remains unclear. We investigated the effects of cell-selective manipulation of BF cholinergic neurons on the sleep-wake behavior and electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum using the pharmacogenetic technique, the 'designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD)' approach, and ChAT-IRES-Cre mice. Our results showed that activation of BF cholinergic neurons expressing hM3Dq receptors significantly and lastingly decreased the EEG delta power spectrum, produced low-delta non-rapid eye movement sleep, and slightly increased wakefulness in both light and dark phases, whereas inhibition of BF cholinergic neurons expressing hM4Di receptors significantly increased EEG delta power spectrum and slightly decreased wakefulness. Next, the projections of BF cholinergic neurons were traced by humanized Renilla green fluorescent protein (hrGFP). Abundant and highly dense hrGFP-positive fibers were observed in the secondary motor cortex and cingulate cortex, and sparse hrGFP-positive fibers were observed in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, a known sleep-related structure. Finally, we found that activation of BF cholinergic neurons significantly increased c-Fos expression in the secondary motor cortex and cingulate cortex, but decreased c-Fos expression in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus. Taken together, these findings reveal that the primary function of BF cholinergic neurons is to inhibit EEG delta activity through the activation of cerebral cortex, rather than to induce behavioral wakefulness.