In this study, we address the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the process of litter decomposition in subalpine forests. In a microcosm experiment, we measured the dynamics of litter moss loss rates and organic carbon by controlling the freeze-thaw environment (-5-5℃) in three typical forests in the sub-alpine region in western Sichuan. The three forest types including coniferous, coniferous-broadleaf, and broadleaf forest were selected for our experiment design based on the criteria of their abundance in the study area. Our results showed that clear and significant differences (P<0.05) in all measured litter types were all observed due to the freeze-thaw treatments. Specially, the mass loss rate of litter in both coniferous-broadleaf and coniferous forests showed a slow-fast-slow trend. In contrast, in the broadleaf forests, the mass loss rates exhibited a gradual decrease trend. This fluctuation phenomenon implies that there is a balance between microbial-fixed exogenous carbon and substrate-released carbon. In conclusion, the increase of globally average temperature would accelerate the freeze-thaw cycles and thus significantly change the process of mass loss and nutrient cycles in the subalpine forests, but both the magnitude and direction of the freeze-thaw effects varied with initial litter quality.