Diversity of the soils and variability of the soil properties of karst microrelieves were exp lored through survey and sampling analysis of the soils in micro-habitats of the karst forest ecosystem of Maolan,South Guizhou.Results show that soil distribution and soil properties varied sharp ly spatially with the micro-habitats,like pit,gully,crevice,cavern and flat land.Cavern was obviously higher than pit,gully,crevice and flat land in sand content,> 5 mm aggregate content and bulk density of the soil,but lower in < 1 mm aggregate content,aeration porosity,humic acid,total nitrogen,total phosphorus and available N;Pit was higher than the others in < 1 mm aggregate content,aeration porosity,organic carbon,humic acid,total nitrogen,available P,available K,available Cu and Zn,but lower in clay content,> 5 mm aggregate content,and bulk density than earthy flat land,gully,and crevice.Gully was markedly lower than flatland and crevice in clay content,but higher in 1 mm aggregate content,organic carbon,humic acid and total N.Crevice was obviously lower than earthy flatland,and gully in organic carbon and available K.Therefore,the soils in microrelieves of the karst region can primarily be divided into four types,i.e.cavern soil,crevice soil,earthy-flatland-gully soil,and pitsoil,of which flatland-gully soil is most extensively distributed and followed by crevice soil.