Soils evolve in space and time and soil changes are coupled with the changes in climate and environment, rock weathering and biogeochemical cycling. A better understanding and accurate quantification of soil spatio-temporal variation not only act as a basic research task of soil science but also are prerequisite for scientifically evaluating and reasonably maintaining soil functions. The main objective of this study was to review the recent studies on spatio-temporal soil variation. Dozens of latest related publications were reviewed, of which the topics included soil formation and evolution, soil morphology, soil survey, soil classification, digital soil mapping and soil degradation. It is anticipated that main scientific issues may include the simulation of coupling processes between soil and environment within the framework of earth surface system, precise modeling of the soil-landscape, and the data fusion and assimilation of multisource soil information. Based on the analysis, future priority areas of soils in space and time studies may include the soil formation and evolution driven by Critical Zone processes, digital soil mapping at various scales, the principle and technology for soil information acquisition based on multi-sensors, a complete and detailed national even global soil inventory and its sharing platform, and the processes of regional soil resource degradation and the recovery of soil functions.