Arylsulfatase is a principle enzyme involved in soil sulphur cycle and is one of the potential indicators of soil quality.Arylsulfatase activity of twelve paddy soil profiles in Taihu region were investigated.The average arylsulfatase activity was p nitrophenol(PNP) 160 μg g^-1 soil h^-1.The highest activity for the plowing layer of these paddy soils was PNP 315 μg g^-1 soil h^-1 while the lowest was PNP 75 μg g^-1 soil h^-1.The enzyme activities for most soils were in the range of PNP 100~200 μg g^-1 soil h^-1.Arylsulfatase activity in the plowing layer of paddy soils was significantly correlated with soil organic carbon content (R²=0.533).Arylsulfatase activity increased with pH when pH was below 5.2, and decreased with pH when pH was higher than 5.2.Arylsulfatase activity dropped with increasing profile depth for all profiles except Meiyan soil profile where the activity in the plowpan layer was higher than that in the plowing layer.No enzyme activity was detected when the depth is over 60 cm.The distribution of arylsulfatase activity in these profiles could be grouped into four different patterns according to its decrease trend within soil profile.