[Objective] The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of soil water infiltration in Yaoba Oasis on the west side of Helan Mountains

and to provide theoretical basis for utilizing water resource efficiently and determining a reasonable way for field irrigation.[Methods] The double-ring infiltration experiments from 21 test spots were carried out. The three different infiltration formulas were used to fit the experimental data. And the soil water infiltration characteristics were analyzed using multivariate analysis and geostatistics methods.[Results] The correlation coefficient of fitting results of Horton formula was as high as 0.963

and the relative error and root mean square error were only 4.09% and 0.046 mm/min

respectively

indicating that the fitting accuracy of Horton formula was better than those of Philip formula and Kostiakov formula. Soil texture had a significant impact on infiltration process

great proportion of sand components in the soil had a faster infiltration rate and had relatively shorter time required to achieve stable infiltration. While the soil bulk density and initial water content had a certain influence on cumulative infiltration volume and initial infiltration rate

respectively. The maximum of stable infiltration rate was about 12 times than the minimum one and the coefficient of variation was up to 0.677. The spatial distribution plot showed a decreasing trend of infiltration rate from the northeast to the southwest of the oasis.[Conclusion] Horton formula could be used to describe the process of soil water infiltration in Yaoba Oasis. The difference of soil properties had a great influence on infiltration process

and the infiltration rate presented a strong spatial variability.