Samples of soils and rice plants gathered from the three chemical fertilization treatments (NH4Cl + KCl+ KH2PO4, Urea + KCl
+ superphosphate, (NH4)2SO4 + K2SO4 + superphosphate) of the Long-term FertilizerExperiment, located in Qiyang, Hunan Province and established in 1975, were used to investigate effects of apply-ing sulphur-containing chemical fertilizers on chemical properties of the paddy soil, SO42--S concentration in thesoil,
micronutrients in the soil-rice system, and rice yield. Results indicate that high S input rate (667 kg ha-1 yr-1) in the form of sulphate fertilizers for 15 years had resulted in obvious
soil acidification, significant accumulationof SO42-S, an increasing tendency of available Cu, B, Mn and total Ca but a decreasing tendency of total Fe.However, there was seemingly no effect in available Mo, Zn and total Mg in 1975~1998. SO42--S decreased in thetreatments without application of the fertilizer. The application also affected micronutrients (Fe, Mo, B, Mg, Cl)uptake of rice, especial late rice. The uptake was obvious greater in the treatments without application than thetreatments with the application and as a result, rice yield was higher in the former than in the latter. It can hencebe concluded that long-term application of sulphur-containing chemical fertilizers could have negative effect onrice growth and paddy soil properties.