【Objective】The chemical behavior of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in paddy soils is opposite to the change in biological efficiency. This presents serious challenges to the simultaneous control of Cd and As pollution in rice. Previous studies have found that continuous flooding of Cd polluted fields can reduce the bioavailability of Cd while reducing soil water content can mitigate the bioavailability of As. However, the forms and availability of Cd and As in the soil-rice system under the process of drying (oxidation) remain unclear. 【Method】In this study, continuous sampling during the process of drying (days 0, 3, 5, and 7 of the drying process) under tillering period of rice in a pot experiment was carried out. At the same time the soil samples were analyzed for pH, Eh, soluble organic carbon, available Cd and As, and the different forms of Cd and As. Also, the plant samples were analyzed for iron plaque in the rice roots and Cd and As concentration in the rice tissues. 【Result】 The results showed that: during the process of drying, the Cd concentration in all parts of rice tissues increased with a reduction in water content, and the Cd concentrations in roots and shoots were increased by 109% and 183%, respectively, under the second drying stage(drying for 5 days) compared with the control treatment (P < 0.05). The concentration of As in rice roots decreased firstly and then increased with the reduction of water content. Compared with the control treatment, the concentration of As in rice roots was decreased by 41.96 mg·kg^-1(P < 0.05). Also, the shoot As concentration was decreased by 12% and 18%, respectively, under the second and third stages of drying (drying for 5 and 7 days) (P < 0.05). The Cd, As and Fe concentrations in the Fe plaque increased by 96%, 16% and 16%, respectively(P < 0.05). With the decrease of soil water content, soil Eh, soil soluble organic carbon, and soil available Cd extracted by DTPA were increased, but soil pH, soil available As, and soil available Fe extracted by DTPA were decreased. In addition, reducing soil water content promoted the transformation of residual Cd to acid extractable and reducible Cd, resulting in the increase of oxidizable As concentration. It was also observed that when the soil moisture content was 33.6%, the bioavailable Cd and As concentration remained relatively low. 【Conclusion】Reasonable water management practices can reduce the bioavailability of Cd and As in soil. This is due to the changing soil Eh, pH, soluble organic carbon and available Fe, and the promotion of adsorption and fixation of Cd and As by the iron plaque. However, it is worth noting that while exploring water management methods to reduce the bioavailability of Cd and As, the growth and development of rice cannot be ignored. Our study contributes to the wealth of knowledge aimed at improving the remediation of Cd and As contaminated soils.