Analysis of characteristics of spatial distributions of total salt content (TS), ion composition, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), pH value and electrical conductivity (EC) of salt-affected soils in the Arid Area was conducted, using conventional statistics and canonical correspondence analysis. Results show that (1) the soils in the region are heavily to slightly alkalized, e.g. heavy in topsoil ( 0～10 cm ) and slight in bottom ( 30～50 cm );(2) close correlation exists between Na⁺ and Cl^- , and between Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in all soil layers; (3) Cl^-, HCO₃^-and Na⁺ are the main factors controlling spatial distribution of soil total salt throughout the whole profile ( 0～50 cm ), which though varies slightly from layer to layer, where Na⁺ and Cl^- remain to main factors; (4) the spatial distribution of ESP in the profile is less affected by environmental factors, however, it is restricted mainly by Na⁺and Cl^- in the 0～10 cm soil layer, by HCO₃^-in the 10～30 cm soil layer, and by none in the 30～50 cm soil layer; (5) pH is quite evenly distributed throughout the profile and only slightly affected by salt ions, that is, it is very slightly affected by ions in the 0～10 cm soil layer, and only weakly influenced by HCO₃^-in the 10～30 cm and 30～50 cm soil layers; (6) the spatial distribution of EC is controlled by Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ throughout the whole profile, except in the 30～50 cm soil layer where K⁺ is the dominant controlling factor.