Soil respiration in terrestrial ecosystems plays an important role in global carbon cycling. However, our understanding of the effects of precipitation on soil respiration is still very limited, particularly for conservation agricultural systems. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of long-term no-till practice on soil respiration in a corn field under rain-fed conditions in the loessial tablelands of northwest China. The no-till experiment was established in a maize/winter wheat/soybean rotation field in 2001 at Qingyang Experimental Station of Lanzhou University, which is located in the east of Gansu Province and in the rain-fed agricultural production zone of the western Loess Plateau. Experiments examining the effects of precipitation events on fluctuations in soil respiration were carried out in July 2013 under tillage and no-till conditions. Soil respiration was measured using the LI-8150-16 multi-channel soil carbon flux measurement system, which also recorded synchronous soil moisture and soil temperature data. The dynamics of soil respiration before and after several precipitation events were analyzed and relationships between soil respiration and factors affecting it (mainly soil temperature and soil water conditions) were examined. Soil respiration decreased immediately when rainfall occurred; soil respiration under tillage and no-till treatments decreased by 62.9%-92.9% and 35.8%-56.9%, respectively. After the precipitation event, soil respiration under tillage and no-till decreased by 31.5%-89.2% and15.7%-59.9%, respectively, from soil respiration before the precipitation event. Soil respiration under tillage was 51.8% higher than that under no-till when soil water content was around 18%, while soil respiration under tillage was 43.0% lower than that under no-till when the soil water content was over 30%, indicating that soil respiration under tillage was more sensitive to soil water content. Soil respiration under both treatments had a linear relationship with soil temperature. Soil respiration under both treatments increased with soil temperature; however, the linear relationship under tillage (R²=0.56) was more significant than that under no-till (R²=0.36), indicating that the soil respiration under tillage was more sensitive to soil temperature. Soil respiration was also significantly linearly related to soil water content (P < 0.05). Under both tillage treatments, soil respiration increased with soil water content when the soil volumetric water content was below 20%, while soil respiration decreased as soil water content increased when the soil volumetric water content was over 30%. The responses of soil respiration to the synergic effects of soil temperature and soil water content could be satisfactorily described with the two-factors linear model under both treatments (P < 0.001), although the correlation coefficient under tillage treatment was higher than that under no-till treatment. The results presented in this work will serve as a basis for further research on the mechanisms by which precipitation affects soil respiration, and can also help to evaluate the effects of the no-till practice on the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems under rain-fed conditions.