Soil erosion, landslides, and other disasters are usually caused by bare patches formed by a lack of water and barren soil in arid and semi-arid areas. Furthermore, forest habitat types with different vegetation cover are fundamental for conserving soil nutrients and moisture. Therefore, soil characteristics of different vegetation types in forest habitat restoration in arid and semi-arid areas should be determined. In the present study, we selected bare land, grassland, and Vitex negundo, Platycladus orientalis, and Robinia pseudoacacia lands to analyze the soil physical and chemical properties, and fine root characteristics in the different restored forest vegetation types. The results were as follows:1) the soil and fine root condition in the restored vegetation types were better than that of the bare land; 2) the R. pseudoacacia land had a high effective nitrogen conversion rate, P. orientalis land had outstanding fine root parameters, and grassland showed improved absorbable phosphorus fractions in the different restored vegetation types; 3) both land types and soil layer had significant effects on the soil moisture content, clay, fine root biomass, and specific root length (P < 0.001); 4) the utilization ability of soil patches differed in each restored vegetation type. The changes of soil and fine root characteristics may be similar in the different vegetation types. This study provides an insight into the proper distribution of vegetation types in the process of ecological restoration.