The index of infiltration and physical properties of soils sampled from 114 temporary sites distributed 11 vegetation types in Three Gorges reservoir area were determined and compared.The results showed that:(1)The soil water infiltration rates in layer A were higher than those in layer B for all kinds of vegetation

which were remarkably related to soil porosity.(2) Significant differences were found for the stable water infiltration rates in different layers in different vegetations.The highest stable infiltration rate was observed in layer A(8.72 mm/min) and layer B(8.52 mm/min)

respectively

for evergreen broadleaved forests

followed by Chinese fir forests

conifer mixed forests.The lowest values of these two indices were 2.22 mm/min and 1.13 mm/min for layer A and B

respectively

in Masson pine forests.(3) For different types of soil

the stable water infiltration rates were different in the two soil layers

which showed the highest in layer A(6.48 mm/min) and B(3.25 mm/min) for purple soil

followed by the mountain brown soil.The mountain yellow soil showed the lowest of the stable water infiltration rate of 1.98 mm/min and 1.65 mm/min in layer A or B

respectively.(4) The stable water infiltration rates of sandy in all layers showed the highest values probably because that the non-capillary porosity in both A and B layers of sandy soil reached 10.54% and 8.28%.The stable water infiltration rates of sandy soil in layer A and B were 7.16 mm/min and 5.66 mm/min

respectively.These indices were remarkable higher than those of the other soils.(5) The soil infiltration and porosity were impacted by many factors

for example

the type of vegetation

soil species and soil texture.A multi-index model for predicting soil infiltration rates or soil porosity was established.The results provided valuable information on researches of processes of hydrological regulation in forest and scientific evaluating the function of water conservation in Three Gorges reservoir area.