Splash erosion is an important form of soil erosion caused by the impact of raindrops. Raindrop kinetic energy is the principal factor that affects splash erosion, and studies on splash characteristics can reveal splash erosion mechanics. However, current studies only characterize the amount of splash erosion, which cannot accurately and comprehensively reflect the splash processes. Therefore, this study examines the effects of raindrop kinetic energy on splash erosion processes and on the amount of splash erosion from different directions on a hillslope. The experimental treatments included two rainfall intensities (50 and 100 mm/h) and 10 rainfall kinetic energies that were obtained with a combination of the two rainfall intensities and five raindrop falling heights (3.5 m, 5.5 m, 7.5 m, 9.5 m, 11.5 m); the slope gradient was set at 10°. In the experiment, all treatments were replicated twice. The soil used in this study was a Mollisol (USDA system of Soil Taxonomy), containing 3.3% sand, 76.4% silt, and 20.3% clay. The tested soil was collected from 0-20 cm depth in the Ap horizon of a maize field in Liujia Town (44°43'N, 126°11'E), Yushu City, Jilin Province, located in the center of the Mollisol region in Northeast China. This study was completed in the rainfall simulation laboratory of the State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Yangling City, China. A side-sprinkle rainfall simulator was used to apply rainfall and a soil pan was specially designed to measure both splash and sheet erosion. Results showed that directional splash erosion increased with the increase of raindrop kinetic energy for a given rainfall intensity. However, at each individual rainfall, the amount of splash erosion was in the order of downslope > lateral slope > upslope.When rainfall intensity increased from 50 to 100 mm/h, the total splash and net splash erosion increased 1.9-4.5 and 1.2-6.4 times, respectively; splash erosion on the upslope, downslope, and lateral slope were enhanced 2.3-5.0, 1.7-5.1, and 1.9-4.3 times, respectively. For all rainfall kinetic energies, splash erosion rate gradually increased with rainfall duration; when runoff occurred, splash erosion rate reached the maximum value, and then gradually decreased until reaching a steady state. According to the relationships between directional, total, and net splash erosion and rainfall kinetic energy, the critical energy for splash erosion initiation was 3-6 J m^-2 mm^-1. Splash erosion increased with an increase in raindrop kinetic energy above the critical value. Furthermore, the relationship between raindrop kinetic energy and upslope, downslope, total, and net splash erosion was expressed by power function, while raindrop kinetic energy had a quadratic polynomial relationship with lateral splash erosion.