【Objective】Studying the effects of topographic position, vegetation cover, and soil property on the characteristics of preferential flow in mountainous areas can enrich research content of hillslope hydrology, and further reveal the mechanism of forestland in soil and water conservation.【Method】Dye tracing experiments using Brilliant blue solution combined with photographed images analysis were carried out in the Dalaoling forestland of the Three Gorges area to explore the transport features of preferential flow along with soil vertical profile and lateral section. Six hillslope sites were selected to conduct dye tracing experiments, including the upslope and downslope covered by evergreen forest (EG), secondary deciduous forest mixed with shrubs (SDFS), and deforested pasture (DP), respectively. Several parameters were analyzed to demonstrate stained feathers along with vertial profile or lateral hillslope, including stained area ratio (SAR), stained path number (SPN), distribution of different preferential flow paths width and lateral flow length along the slope.【Result】Results indicated that: (1) Larger stained area ratio and more stained path number were observed in upper soil horizon than deeper soil horizon. Compared among different vegetation covers, the largest SAR was observed in SDFS, followed by DP and EG, which were 44.2%, 36.1%, and 35.3% at 0-60 cm depth, respectively. While average SPN in SDFS, EG, and DP was 43, 19, 15 at 0-60 cm depth, respectively. For different topographic positions, larger SAR was identified in upslope sites (41.5%) than in downslope sites (35.6%), while upslope sites had less SPN (23) than downslope sites (28) at 0-60 cm depth. Deeper percolated depth was identified at SDFS sites than that of other sites, which showed abundant stained paths even at 60-110 cm depth, while few paths were found at this horizon for EG and DP sites. (2) The stained area at six sites were dominated by preferential flow paths with 1-10 cm width and >10 cm width, which account for 82.8% of the total stained area. Homogeneous matrix flow and heterogeneous matrix fingering flow were mainly distributed at 0-30 cm depth, while other preferential flow patterns were mainly observed at deeper soil horizons. (3) Compared with EG and SDFS sites, more lateral flow appeared at DP sites showing stained patches extended 50 cm distance along the downslope direction, while only 10-20 cm distance extending was observed at other sites. 【Conclusion】Vegetation types and topographic position affected water infiltration processes through controlling soil properties and affecting water flow paths. Forestland sites had a better ecohydrological function in water conservation than deforested land, as the vertical flow process at DP was inhibited by the plowing hardpan. These led to more lateral flow at the shallow horizon and had more risks triggering a surface runoff. The practices of deep ploughing and reforestation can enrich root channels and benefit soil and water conservation.