Amorphous iron oxides in soil were determined by hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry. The results showed that hydroxylamrnine extraction eliminates interference of magnetite and the defect of results being on the high side was overcome to a certain degree compared with oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction. The hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry for the detection of amorphous iron oxides in soil was highly precise (relative standard deviation was less than 2.0%) and highly reliable (recovery rates ranged from 97.5% to 101.5%). Other advantages of the method were rapidness,simplicity and a shorter chromogenic time. In addition, soil incubated anaerobically at constant temperature under laboratory condition was investigated. The results suggested that iron reduction rates during initiation, rapid reaction and steady phases in the soil samples anaerobic incubation were 0.030-0.053, 0.186-0.333 and 0.015-0.030 g x d(-1) x kg(-1), respectively. Significant relationship between the concentrations of hydroxylamine extraction iron and iron reduction rates during rapid reaction phase in soil incubation (r= 0.9907, p<0.01) indicated that hydroxylamine had a higher degree of selectivity in amorphous iron oxides extraction than oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction.