[Objective] How to arrange rationally land preparation measures on terraced slopes affects runoff generation, rainfall infiltration, and water conservation capacity, thereon. It's of great significance to understand the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of soil moisture in terraced orchards different in land preparation measure and its mechanism, for promoting development of the forest and fruit industry.[Method] For this paper, the navel orange orchard development demonstration area in the small watershed of Xiaoyang in a low hilly red soil region in South China is selected as the research area. Three slopes, typical of the area, but different in land use structure (optimally prepared terraced slope, extensively prepared terraced slope, and unprepared waste grassland slope) and four types of land use (orchard on optimally prepared terraced slope, orchard on extensively prepared terraced slope, waste grassland, and cropland) were selected as the research objects for the study on spatio-temporal distribution of soil water relative to land preparation and land use. Soil water content in five soil layers (0~20, 20~40, 40~60, 60~80 and 80~100 cm) at five slope positions (top slope, upper slope, middle slope, lower slope, and toe slope) on all the four slopes was monitored in both seasons (rainy and dry season). And redundant analysis was performed to determine the main terrain factors (including slope position, slope, land use type and altitude) that affect spatio-temporal distribution of soil water content in different seasons and soil layers.[Result] Results show:1) soil water content during the rainy season varied with land use of a slope, exhibiting an order of slope of cropland (0.4088 m³·m^-3) > orchard on extensively prepared terraced slope (0.3227 m³·m^-3) > orchard on optimally prepared terraced slope (0.3078 m³·m^-3) > slope of waste grassland (0.2739 m³·m^-3). Apparently, the two orchards did not differ much, but did significantly from the other two. During the dry season, soil water content decreased much faster in the slope of waste grassland and the orchard on extensively prepared terraced slope than in the two. On the slope of farmland, the impact of slope position on soil water content was the least. In terms of soil water content during the dry season, the four slopes followed a decreasing order of slope of cropland (0.3524 m³·m^-3) > orchard on optimally prepared terraced slope (0.1980 m³·m^-3) > orchard extensively prepared terraced slope (0.1475 m³·m^-3) > slope of waste grassland (0.1380 m³·m^-3). Obviously the last two were much lower than the first two. 2) Soil water content gradually increased along the slope from the top to the toe, during both the rainy and dry seasons, but differed slightly between the upper, middle and lower parts of the three slopes, however, spatial heterogeneity intensified significantly after land preparation of the slopes. 3) The main topographic factors affecting the distribution of soil water content during the rainy season were slope position (P=0.002) and land use (P=0.048), and during the dry season were land use (P=0.008), slope position (P=0.024) and altitude (P=0.024), however, slope gradient was an insignificant one.[Conclusion] In general, land preparation of the slopes significantly increased rain water infiltration capacity and hence soil water content of the surface (0~20 cm) soil layer during the rainy season, especially in the orchard on the optimally prepared terraced slope, where the water storage and retention capacity was significantly improved during the dry season. All the findings in this study may serve as a scientific basis for rational arrangement of land resources in the region, optimization of the spatial layout of soil and water conservation measures, and comprehensive soil erosion control.