Abstract: In this study we analyzed soil physical and chemical properties in croplands which were cultivated under traditional tillage for at least 50 years and grasslands which had been restored from cropping for 20 years in the Loess Plateau in Gansu Longzhong. 1) Different land uses resulted in significant differences in soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen, total phosphorous, available phosphorous, soil bulk density and soil pH. In surface soil (0-10 cm), SOC contents were significantly higher in grasslands than those in croplands, while total nitrogen was not significantly different. In the soil layers from 20 to 100 cm, SOC and total nitrogen contents were significantly (P<0.05) higher in croplands than those in grasslands. The soil total phosphorous was higher in croplands than that in grasslands but not significantly so. In the soil profile down to 100 cm, the C/N ratios in croplands were much higher than those in grasslands, except for the 0-10 cm layer. The soil pH in grasslands was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that in croplands in each layer. The soil bulk densities in the grasslands were higher than in croplands, except for the 10-20 cm layer. 2) The SOC and total nitrogen decreased with soil depth in grasslands, but this was only found in the soil layers below 30 cm in croplands; In the upper 30 cm soil layers, SOC increased with depth. Total phosphorous did not show significant differences in different soil layers in grasslands while in croplands, the changes of total phosphorous showed the same trends as those of SOC and total nitrogen. The available phosphorous contents decreased with soil depth in both grasslands and croplands while the soil pH was the reverse. 3) In both grasslands and croplands, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorous and available phosphorous showed significant negative correlations with soil BD and soil pH. There were significant positive correlation between soil BD and soil pH. Significant positive correlations were also found between SOC, total nitrogen, total phosphorous and available phosphorous.