[Objective] Studying the hydrological effects of understory soil of typical forest types in the upper reaches of Liaohe River

aimed to provide theoretical evidence for the monitoring and evaluation of the forest ecosystem health.[Methods] The understory soils of some typical forest types were chosen to research their infiltration processes

and upon which the processes were fitted with several permeability models.[Results](1) The soil bulk density ranged from about 1.21 g/cm3 to 1.56 g/cm3

the maximum value was found in the middle-aged Pinus tabuliformisforest and maturePopulus davidianaforest had the minimum bulk density. The range of the total soil porosity was 41.26%~54.38%

mature Populus davidiana forest had the maximum porosity and middle-aged Pinus tabuliformis had the minimum porosity; (2) The soil water-holding capacity of mature Populus davidiana forest was greatest with a value of 1 087.56 t/hm2 and middle-aged Pinus tabulaeformis forest had the minimum value of 825.17 t/hm2; (3) The steady infiltration rate of mature Populus davidiana forest was 1.33 mm/min; (4) Both Horton infiltration model and Philip model could reflect the soil infiltration course of each forest vegetation well

while the common power functional infiltration performed poorly.[Conclusion] The soils of different forest types had greater bulk density in deeper layer. The soil water storage capacity was bigger under broad-leaved forest than that under under coniferous forest. Horton model could be used as an important means to study the local hydrological function of forest soil.