A field survey was performed of some deserted ionic rare earth mine tailing dumpling sites different in age in the Dingnan County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, to investigate vegetation composition, soil physico-chemical properties, soil microbial and enzymeactivities, in an attempt to explore factors limiting restoration of the dumping sites. Results show that vegetation coverage of the dumping sites increased with the age, reaching 72% at the sites 10 years after the desertion, but plant composition of the vegetation at the sites remained still quitesimple (only three species recorded). In comparison with the surrounding areas with normal vegetation, the sites were much lower insoil organic matter content (0.5~1.5 g kg^-1), andclay content (6.00%~9.66%), but significantly higher in bulk density (1.26~1.43 g cm^-3). The one-year old deserted dumpling sites were much higher insoil electrical conductivity (EC) than those 3~10 years old and the surrounding areas, and moreover, reached as high as 400 mg kg^-1 and 500mg kg^-1 inammonium nitrogen and available nitrogen, while those 3~10 years old tended to be as low as trace, and the sites, 3 and 6 years old, were also extremely low in ammonium nitrogen in the 0~100cm soil layer, indicating that soil ammonium nitrogen in the sites were almost depleted completely to below 10mg kg sup>-1 within three years. So severe soil erosion and the resultant soil N deficiency are among the main factors limiting restoration of vegetation at the sites. Besides, the soils at the sites were significantly lower than the surrounding areas insoil microbial carbon content (< 26.7 mg kg^-1), soil urease activity (<29.9 NH₃-N mg kg^-1 h^-1) and soil acid phosphatase activity (<7.10 phenol mg kg^-1 h^-1), indicating that soil nitrogen and phosphorus recycling in the soils of the sites was inhibited.The findings of the present study suggest that the soils at the sites did not have much improvement in the years from the 3.^rd to the 10.^th physical, chemical and microbial properties. So vegetationrestorationat the sites is facing an issue of reconstructing, their soils, which requires some appropriate artificial interventions, like soil amelioration, before vegetation can be restored.