Fire disturbance influences both above-ground and below-ground nutrient cycles by burning some of the vegetation, litter, and duff, which leads to nutrient losses. It can also cause important changes in soil chemical properties and enzyme activity. In desert ecosystems, large-scale fires, previously considered as rare events, are now a major threat to these areas. The present study was undertaken in Gurbantunggut desert, where wildfire incident occurred in July 2016, to examined the short-term effects of fire on soil nutrient content and enzyme activity in different soil layers (0-5 cm and 5-10 cm). The original vertical distribution patterns of soil nutrients and enzyme activity were not changed by fire disturbance. Soil nutrient content and soil enzyme activity, except for that of catalase, were higher in the 0-5 cm soil layer than in the 5-10 cm soil layer. An interaction was present between fire and soil depth, and the effect of fire on soil properties was limited by soil depth. Soil chemical properties were mainly affected by fire in the 0-5 cm soil layer. Soil hydrolase and oxidase activity decreased after the fire, and the activity of sucrase, urease and beta glucosidase decreased in the 0-5 and 5-10 cm layers. Alkaline phosphatase activity decreased only in the 0-5 cm soil layer,and catalase activity decreased only in the 5-10 cm layer. The activity of hydrolase in the upper soil layer was sensitive to fire disturbance, and that of oxidase was relatively stable under the interference of fire. Analysis of the characteristics of soil enzyme activity in the different soil layers indicated that effect of fire on hydrolytic enzyme activity decreased with increase in soil depth, while that of oxidase showed the opposite trend. Overall, fire disturbance increased the content of soil available nutrients and significantly decreased soil enzyme activity in Gurbantunggut desert.