Abstract: In order to reveal the key factors restricting the existence and development of desert riparian vegetation, the soil physicochemical properties, soil enzyme activities and their spatial distribution characteristics of four kinds of plant communities in the vertical riparian zone of upstream of Hotan River were studied with stratified sampling. The types of plant communities are: (Ⅰ). Populus pruinosa Schrenk + Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.+ Phragmites communis Trin. Fund. Agrost.+ Glycyrrhiza inflata Batalin; (Ⅱ). Populus pruinosa Schrenk + Populus euphratica Oliv. + T. ramosissima Ledeb.+ Phragmites communis Trin. Fund. Agrost. + G. inflata Batalin; (Ⅲ). Lycium barbarum Murray+ Halostachys caspica C. A. Mey. ex Schrenk + Phragmites communis Trin. Fund. Agrost.+ G. inflata Batalin; (Ⅳ). Karelinia caspia (Pall.) Less+ Phragmites communis Trin. Fund. Agrost.+ G. inflata Batalin. The results showed that the vertical spatial heterogeneity of the soil moisture content, total salt content and available nitrogen were more obvious than the other determined indexes in the four plant communities. The differences of soil moisture content and total salt content were obviously significant in the same soil layer of the four plant communities (P-1 to 0.86 g·kg-1, both the pH values and total phosphorus had not significant difference in the same soil layers of the four plant communities (P<0.05). The soil organic matter , total nitrogen and the activities of invertase were the highest in five soil layers of communityⅠ. The activities of catalase and phosphatase were the highest in every soil layers of community Ⅲ. The bulk density and soil moisture content had a strong correlation with other measured indexes, they were sensitive to the change of external environment, and could be used to evaluate the soil quality as the preferred indicators in the upstream areas of Hotan River.