Soil hydraulic properties are important factors affecting hydrologic process on soil surface and efficiency of irrigation and drainage. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in soil hydraulic properties in South China. The pressure membrane method

the constant head seepage method

one-dimensional horizontal soil column were used to measure the hydrodynamic parameters of five typical soils (clay fluvo-aquic soil

sandy fluvo-aquic soil

red soil

paddy soil

and purple soil) in South China. The differences in soil hydraulic characteristics and the reasons for the differences were compared and analyzed. The results were as follows: Soil texture and clay content were the major factors affecting soil hydraulic characteristics. Because of the clay fluvo-aquic soil and sandy fluvo-aquic soil were well graded soil

while red soil

purple soil

and paddy soil were poorly graded soil

the saturated hydraulic conductivity followed the order of clay fluvo-aquic soil＞sandy fluvo-aquic soil＞red soil＞purple soil＞paddy soil

being 1.75×10-3 cm/min

3.15×10-3 cm/min

4.77×10-3 cm/min

11.02×10-3 cm/min

11.87×10-3 cm/min

respectively. The water holding capacity of sandy fluvo-aquic soil

red soil

and purple soil were higher than that of the paddy soil and sandy fluvo-aquic soil. The available water content followed the order of sandy fluvo-aquic soil＞clay fluvo-aquic soil＞paddy soil＞purple soil＞red soil

the effective water pore volume accounted for 48%

29%

27%

18% and 17% of the total pore volume

respectively. Under the unsaturated condition

the water movement speed of sandy fluvo-aquic soil and red soil were much higher than that of the clay fluvo-aquic soil

which was 6.8 times of that of the clay fluvo-aquic soil. Soil texture

particle size

clay and organic matter content were the factors contributing to the differences in the hydraulic properties of typical soils in South China，and soil texture and particle size distribution were the main influential factors.