Readily oxidizable carbon (ROC) is of the most easily oxidized and sensitive carbons in soil, and sensitively responds to early environment changes in plants and soils. This study aimed to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics response of soil ROC to secondary succession in tropical forests. The spatiotemporal variation in soil ROC was measured by potassium permanganate oxidation; the relationship of soil ROC to soil microbial carbon and physiochemical properties in three secondary succession stages (Mallotus paniculatus, Musa acuminata, and Mellettia leptobotrya) of Xishuangbanna tropical forests was also analyzed. The results were as follows:(1) Soil ROC varied significantly across the three succession stages (P < 0.05), in the order of M. leptobotrya > M. acuminatan > M. paniculatus; (2) the ROC concentration had similar monthly variations in the three succession stages, with higher values observed in March and June, and lower values in September and December;(3) the ROC concentration significantly decreased down through the soil profile in the three secondary succession stages. (4) The spatiotemporal variation in soil ROC was positively affected by the soil organic carbon, microbial carbon, total nitrogen, hydrolyzable nitrogen, and NH₄⁺-N, whereas the soil ROC was negatively correlated with pH. We can conclude that soil ROC can sensitively respond to community succession in Xishuangbanna tropical forests. The spatiotemporal variation in soil ROC was attributed to the changes in factors (soil organic carbon, microbial carbon, total nitrogen, hydrolyzable nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen and soil pH) during the succession processes in Xishuangbanna tropical forests.