Soil macropores refer to pores with a larger diameter and higher hydraulic conductivity than those of the soil matrix; these macropores include root channels, caves, and fissures. The preferential flow of water to the soil macropores would result in non-uniform soil water transport, this indicates a need to study the mechanisms of soil water movement from homogeneous to heterogeneous fields. Water breakthrough experiments with undisturbed soil samples identified the structure of the macropores of four kinds of mountain soils covered by different forest types in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (brown earth covered by subalpine temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest, yellow-brown earth covered by deciduous coniferous broad-leaved mixed shrubs, yellow earth covered by low-mountain warm coniferous forests, and abandoned farmland covered by herbaceous plants). The profiled soil macropore characterizations and their effects on saturated hydraulic conductivity were analyzed. The results indicated that the equivalent radii of the soil macropores in the study area ranged from 0.3 to 3.0 mm, accounting for only 0.15%-4.72% of the soil bulk volume. The proportion of macropores with the radii from 0.3 to 0.6 mm was the largest, accounting for 72.2%-90.4% of the total macropore amount, while the proportion of macropores with radii > 1 mm accounted for only 1.26%-8.55%. Soil macropore density and the proportion of the average area of the macropores in different soil types decreased in the following order: brown earth covered by subalpine temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest > yellow-brown earth covered by deciduous coniferous broad-leaved mixed shrubs > yellow earth covered by low-mountain warm coniferous forest > abandoned farmland covered by herbaceous plants. All macropores, regardless of radius, decreased with increasing soil depth, from the humus horizon (layer A) to the leaching illuvial horizon (layer B) to the parent material horizon (layer C), and a significant correlation was observed between soil macropore density and soil organic matter content. Significant correlations were also observed between the following pairs: saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil macropore density, and proportion of the average area of macropores and organic matter content. Macropores with a radius > 1mm, constituting only 1.26%-8.55% of the total amount of macropores, accounted for 84.7% of the variability in saturated soil hydraulic conductivity. Collectively, these results suggest that increased organic matter in forest soil layers can improve its infiltration capability.