Abstract: The aim of this study was to illustrate differences in the nutrient characteristics of soil under different land use patterns in the northern piedmont of Yinshan Mountain. Soil nutrient characteristics were evaluated under four different land use patterns (enclosed grassland, grazed grassland, farmland, and abandoned land) in field studies, by analyses of field samples, in laboratory analyses, and by mathematical models. The contents of organic matter, total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), and total potassium (K) in soil samples were (25.12±6.56), (0.63±0.08), (0.76±0.10), and (31.99±1.07) g/kg, respectively. The contents of soil available N, available P, and available K were (39.87±9.14), (6.72±3.75), and (175.83±105.45) mg/kg, respectively. The soil pH value was (7.74±0.14). The type of land use pattern significantly affected soil organic matter, total N, total P, available P, and available K (P<0.01), but did not significantly affect the available N, total K, or pH (P>0.05). The total soil nutrient contents and the pH value in the 0-25 cm soil layer showed little variation, but the contents of available soil nutrients and organic matter decreased at deeper soil depths. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of soil fertility, the four plots were ranked from most to least fertile as follows: enclosed grassland (0.506)>grazed grassland (0.417)>farmland (0.361)>abandoned land (0.357). The soil fertility of enclosed grassland and grazed grassland was evaluated as medium, while that of farmland and abandoned land was classified as low. These results suggested that grassland is more beneficial than farmland for maintaining soil fertility. In conclusion, the soil fertility was low in these studied areas, and the contents of total N and available N were especially low.