Present paper proposes a new characteristic index-the hydrophilicity value of soil (H) for studying soil hydrophilicity,and introduces its measuring method.H value is defined as a ratio of the volume of water to the volume of CCl₄,both of which are held by an unit quantity of soils.The magnitude of the H value was mainly related to the component of clay minerole in soils.The results obtained showed that H value was in following descending order:bentomite>kaolinite;chernozem>yellow brown earth and neutral paddy soil>red earth>laterite.The time needed to attain an equilibrium state of water holding of soils are positively correlated with the magnitude of H value.