This study investigated the short-term responses of soil nutrient contents to burning in Nanjishan Nature Reserve. The experiment was conducted in the water subsided region with comparison method. The results showed that burning significantly increased the contents of soil total nitrogen, NO3--N and NH4+-N, while significantly decreased soil moisture content.However,contents of soil organic carbon, soil total phosphorus and soil available phosphorus did not show significant difference between burning treatment and unburning treatment. In addition, the ratio of soil organic carbon to soil nitrogen significantly declined after burning. We suggest that more research is needed to examine the effect of burning on soil nutrient cycling in wetlands.