Soil respiration (R_s), the second largest site of carbon flow in the forest ecosystem carbon budget, plays an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle and climate change. Understanding the effects of forest management practices (e.g. thinning) on R_s is crucial for the accurate estimation of forest carbon cycling. Simultaneously, aboveground litter management practices (removal, addition, and so on) can also influence R_s. However, little is known about the response of R_s to thinning and its relationship with the changes in litter production induced by thinning. We aimed to quantify the response of R_s rate to different thinning intensities and to explore the relationships between R_s and soil temperature and moisture as a result of different litter management practices. A thinning manipulation experiment was conducted in a Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation in Shanxi province, China, with the following treatments:heavy thinning, moderate thinning, low thinning and no thinning. In addition, three treatments-litterfall removal, litter addition and normal litterfall-were applied to analyze the relationship between differences in litter input and R_s. Rates of soil respiration were measured twice a month using the LI-8100 Automated Soil CO₂ Flux System from May to October 2016, while soil temperature and moisture at a depth of 5 cm were measured using temperature and moisture probes and data loggers. A significant difference was noted in R_s among the different thinning treatments (P < 0.05). Clear monthly variations in R_s were noted in the growing season, and R_s reached its peak value in August. Overall, moderate thinning increased R_s rate during the growing season by 15.7% from that of the no-thinning treatment. During the growing season, the R_s rate was lower by 40.16% with litterfall removal than that of normal litterfall; however, R_s rate was higher by 16.06% with litter addition than that of normal litterfall. Moderate thinning increased accumulative R_s by 55.06 g C/m² during the growing season. Under litter removal conditions, accumulative R_s decreased by 153.48 g C/m² during the growing season, while accumulative R_s increased with litter addition by 79.87 g C/m². During the growing season, R_s exhibited significant exponential relationships with soil temperature, while there were no significant differences in soil moisture among the various treatments. Temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) values of R_s ranged from 2.36 to 3.46 in the various thinning intensities, with the highest Q₁₀ value in the low thinning stand. The Q₁₀ value were lower with the litter removal and litter addition treatments than those of normal litterfall. The interaction of soil temperature and moisture had a significant effect on R_s. The best fitting model with temperature and moisture explained 28%-62% of the variation in R_s. The results indicated that the interaction between thinning treatments and litter changes has a significant effect on the R_s in L. principis-rupprechtii plantations. The compound effect of moderate thinning and litter addition on R_s is significantly greater than that of any single factor. In conclusion, thinning played a considerable role in altering R_s and carbon cycle in forest ecosystems by influencing the soil micro-environment and litter production rates.