It is obvious that the soil environment of water-level fluctuation zone response to the dam operation. The paper summerizedthe process and trend of soil characteristics affected by the water level fluctuation through analyzing the changes of soilphysicochemical properties, heavy metal content, microbial characteristics, and soil erosion characteristics under the operation ofdam. The research shows that soil physical properties have changed a lot since the soil experienced a long period of dry-wet alternation, but the specific changes of the process and trends are still controversial. The migration and transformation of soil chemicalproperties, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, have different but obvious trends. The temporal and spatial distribution of soilheavy metal elements has changed. Soil microorganisms generally show a decreasing trend after flooded, and it also shows obviousdifference on elevation gradients. Soil erosion is the main environmental problem of water-level fluctuation zone. It is suggested thatthe physical models should be applied to quantitatively analyze the related relation between the soil properties and water level, andthe water-level fluctuation zone of giant reservoirs in southwest China should be paid more attention.