In order to study responses of direct-seeding rapeseed to fertilization in fields of red soil different in fertility, and to find out limiting factors of direct-seeding rapeseed in nutrition, eight field experiments on crop response to NPKB fertilizers were conducted in typical red soil regions of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces in 2009－2010. Results show that growth of the direct-seeding rapeseed was significantly affected by soil fertilit. The yield of the field with basic soil fertility being high, middle and low was 1 230, 721 and 191 kg hm^-2, respectively. Fertilization promoted growth and nutrient uptake of the crop, increased its seed yield and influenced its harvest index to a varying degree. In all the experiment fields, Treatments NPKB were the highest in yield at each soil fertility level, The average yield of the treatments was 2 529 kg hm^-2 in fields high in soil fertility, 1 681 kg hm^-2 in fields moderate in soil fertility and 1 065 kg hm^-2 in fields low in soil fertility. Obviously yield of the crop increased with the soil fertility level by a large margin, but the margin tended to be narrower with the yield going up. The yield-increasing effect of additional fertilizer besides the combined recommendation followed the order of N ＞ P ＞ B ＞ K, which also indicated the order of importance of the four elements as limiting factor in nutrition of the crops. However, as affected by different in soil nutrient status, crop response to fertilization in fields different in soil fertility also varied. Relative yield response to fertilization was higher in fields low in soil fertility, while absolute yield and benefit responses were still better in fields high in soil fertility. N, P and K recovery rate of the direct-seeding rapeseed in the red soils was 34.5%, 26.7% and 65.4%, respectively, which increased with the soil fertility level. These findings demonstrate that in nutrient management of direct-seeding rapeseed, it is essential to pay high attention to combined application of N, P, K and B and elimination of nutrient limiting factors, to achieve effective yield increase. Long-term rational fertilization can build up the soil, improve soil fertility and hence sustain high and stable yield of the crops.