Soil erosion,soil fertility degeneration and land productivity loss are severe problems in hilly land of purple soil under conventional.tillage.A long-term field experiment was conducted during 1984 to 1996 to determine soil productivity in a typical hilly area of degraded upland of purple soil in Yanting,Sichuan province.Results showed that a conservation tillage system with ridge-furrow and seasonal no-tillage (SNTRCS) increased topsoil depth by 11.8 cm over the conventional tillage.Annual run off and soil loss were 657.7 m³ hm^-2 and 530.0 t km^-2 respectively,under conservation tillage,and 1 754.0 m³ hm^-2 and 3 122.0 t km^-2 respectively,under conventional tillage'soil structure and soil physical,chemical and biological properties were also improved when conservation tillage was adopted.Mulching experiments from 1996~1998 showed that mulching increase contents of organic matter and nutrients in the soil,which in turn improved and maintained soil structure.In conclusion,SNTRCS with mulching is suitable for soil and nutrient conservation,and structure amelioration,consequently for restoration of productivity in degraded hilly land of purple soil.