The long-term impact of tillage and residue management on soil microbial biomass carbon and, soil moisture and temperature was studied in a cinnamon soil in northern China over the maize (Zea mays L.) growing season in monoculture. Soil microbial biomass, the active fraction of soil organic matter, plays a central role in the flow of C and N in ecosystems, responds rapidly to management practices, and serves as an index of soil fertility. This study was to investigate the effects of different tillage-residue practices on soil microbial biomass carbon dynamics of maize after seven years of conserved tillage practice. Treatments of conventional tillage (CT), no tillage with straw mulch (NTSM), and tillage with all straw return (ASRT) were considered, and a randomized complete block design was used to lay out the experimental plots. The results showed that conservation tillage practices (NTSM and ASRT) had a noticeable positive effect on soil moisture content. The NTSM and ASRT treatments increased the soil moisture content by 18%, 22%, 29%, 21% and 3%, 10%, 12%, 13% at four physiological stages of the maize (seeding stage, jointing stage, filling stage, and maturation stage). However, soil temperature were decreased under NTSM and ASRT compared to CT at both depths, especially at 5-cm depths where significantly lower values were observed (18.12, 18.76, and 19.44℃ under NTSM, ASRT, and CT treatment, respectively). The dynamic of microbial biomass carbon in the whole growth period rapidly reaches a peak at the jointing stage and then begins to decline and tend to stabilize. Soil microbial biomass carbon was significantly higher with NTSM and ASRT than with CT in the arable soil layer at different stages. The values under NTSM and ASRT increased by 70%, 40%, 85%, 30%, and 10%, 20%, 15%, 15% at seeding stage, jointing stage, filling stage, and maturation stage, respectively. There is a positive correlation between soil microbial biomass carbon and soil moisture and soil temperature.