Abstract: Soil quality is crucial to sustainable development of grassland ecosystems and to their productivity. Healthy soil must have rich species diversity, active microorganism populations, an efficient internal nutrient cycle and good buffering against disturbance. Soil microorganisms are the main driver of various biological processes and are therefore very important in soil systems. Hence, soil microbial community characteristics such as population numbers, community structure and species diversity can be used as a measure of soil health. The present paper summarizes the effects of grazing on the grassland soil microbial populations, community structure and diversity. We propose that it is essential to understand the impact of grazing management on soil microorganisms. A methodology is introduced for evaluation of soil health, and selection of a suitable grazing level to improve grassland management, and the advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Two key questions are addressed; namely the responses of the soil microbial community to grazing activity, and how to use these indicators to evaluate soil quality and propose a reasonable grazing practice to sustainably improve the productivity of grassland.