【Objective】 Based on a long-term fertilization experiment on yellow soil typical of Central Guizhou, analysis was done to explore relationship between soil organic carbon (SOC) content and crop yield sustainability in yellow soil and to make case-specific rational fertilization recommendations, because few of the studies in the past did much work on the aspects. 【Method】Therefore, data of the 11 year-long (2004—2014) field experiment that had 10 different treatments, that is CK (no fertilizer), treatment NPK(balanced chemical fertilizer application), treatment N(PK deficiency), treatment PK(N deficiency), treatment NK(P deficiency), treatment NP(K deficiency), treatment M(manure only), treatment MNPK(manure plus balanced chemical fertilizer), treatment 1/2M+1/2NPK(50% manure plus 50% chemical fertilizer) and treatment 1/4M+3/4NPK(25% manure plus 75% chemical fertilizer), were analyzed and compared with the single factor variance analysis, sustainable yield index(SYI) and stability index(CV) methods, with a view to exploring effects of the treatments on SOC content and SOC balance in the yellow soil, their effect on crop yield stability and sustainability, and their interrelationships, clarifying the relationship between SOC and crop yield, and providing some theoretic bases for building of soil fertility, improvement of crop yield, development of sustainable agriculture, expansion of carbon sink and reduction of carbon emission. 【Result】Comparison between the treatments demonstrates that treatments M and MNPK were significantly higher in SOC content than all the others, displaying an order of M > MNPK > 1/2M+1/2NPK > 1/4M+3/4NPK. In treatments M and MNPK, content of SOC was gaining in budgeting, and the higher the application rate of manure, the more significant the gain, while it was losing in all the other treatments, displaying an order of MNPK & M > 1/2M+1/2NPK > 1/4M+3/4NPK > NPK > NK > NP > N & CK > PK. Application of manure plus chemical fertilizers, manure alone or balanced NPK was more conducive to improvement of crop yield than the other patterns of fertilization, and in terms of crop yield, the treatments followed an order of MNPK > 1/4M+3/4NPK & 1/2M+1/2NPK > NPK & M > NP > NK, PK & N > CK. Application of NPK coupled with appropriate of organic manure improved maize yield sustainability (SYI) and yield stability (CV), especially treatment 1/4M+3/4NPK that was the highest in both of the indices, with SYI being > 0.6 and CV being < 0.3. The research also found that annual yield was closely related to balance of SOC content, whereas, yield sustainability and stability was to SOC content. 【Conclusion】To sum up, application of chemical fertilizer coupled with organic manure is conducive to accumulation of SOC content in yellow soil and maintenance of stable and sustainable maize yield, and in response to the fertilizer reducing principle, the application of 1/4M+3/4NPK is recommended to be the optimal practice.