The influencing factors such as fire, soil moisture, organic matter, soil pH value, biology film, clay mineral etc. and the amelioration of soil water repellency and the research progress were mainly discussed. Meanwhile it has been pointed that the further study should be focused on the research of soil pore or particle-scale, expressing the relationship between water repellency and soil moisture, quantifying the various hydrological effects of water repellence at large field scales. The future research orientation on water repellency in China was also pointed out.