Soil is an essential component of the Earth"s critical zone, offering series of essential ecosystem services (i.e. agricultural production, plant growth, animal habitat, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and environmental quality). Soil stands for a nexus of the whole natural ecosystem. Enhancing soil health is vital to achieving sustainable development goals; therefore, scientific researchers have paid much attention to that over the world. Cultivated land and grassland are currently the most extensive land-use types on the Earth, accounting for 12% and 26% of the ice-free land, respectively. Also, these two crucial components consist of the Mountain-River-Forest-Farmland-Lake-Grass System theory. Therefore, keeping up the soil health status of these two land-use patterns has significant meaning for holding the whole natural ecosystem healthy and achieving sustainable development goals. In recent decades, the research focusing on the soil health of these two land-uses types is progressive worldwide. China is also relatively vibrant in this research field; however, the achievements have not made a difference. Additionally, a unified soil health assessment system has not yet been established at the national level. In this paper, firstly, the connotation and evolution of "soil health" was sorted out comprehensively. Then, focusing on the cultivated land and grassland, we highlighted the recent hotpots and advances in soil health globally. Secondly, we outlined several soil health assessment systems in different countries and sketched out series of fundamental works on soil health maintenance in China. Finally, we pointed out the new insights in the future to improve soil ecosystem functions and maintain the soil health of cultivated and grassland soils in China.