Soil fertility is not only the comprehensive function and reflection of various soil properties but also the ability of soil to sustain plant growth and develop forest productivity. Hence, evaluation of soil fertility is of great meaning to improve the forest management. However, soil fertility at regional scale is still poor understood. In this study, soil fertility in the Pinus massoniana forests, which were widely distributed in subtropical China, was taken as the research object. The pH value and nutrient contents at soil depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm were collected from 499 published data, 134 historical data and 131 current data. Based on the national nutrient classification standard of the second soil census and the Nemero index, the abundant-poor level of soil nutrient indicators and the status of soil fertility index were evaluated, respectively. The differences of soil fertility between natural forests and planted forests and between pure forests and mixed forests were also analyzed. The study will provide scientific basis for sustainable management and improved productivity of P. massoniana forests. Across subtropical China, the average values of pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), alkai-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) at soil depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm were 4.79 and 4.91, 33.78 and 19.92 g/kg, 1.82 and 1.32 g/kg, 0.46 and 0.40 g/kg, 14.49 and 15.71 g/kg, 88.00 and 59.41 mg/kg, 4.94 and 2.38 mg/kg, and 71.72 and 52.99 mg/kg, respectively. Except for SOM, TN and TK, the abundant-poor levels of other soil nutrient indicators in two soil layers were at and/or below "relative deficiency" level. The soil fertility index of 0-20 cm (0.97) was greater than that of 20-40 cm (0.77), and the fertility indexes of soil AP content in these two soil layers were the lowest value (0.60 and 0.33, respectively). Except for soil pH value, AN and AK content of 20-40 cm, other indicators and fertility index were characterized by the mixed forests > pure forests, and the differences of these indicators between the natural forest and the planted forest varied with the indicators. In conclusion, the supply potential and capacity of soil phosphorus and potassium elements of P. massoniana forests were weak and soil fertility was also close to "poor" level, in which the content and fertility index of soil AP were the lowest value. The soil nutrient and fertility status of 0-20 cm were better than those of 20-40 cm, and these indicators were affected by stand origin (natural versus planted) and stand structure (pure versus mixed). However, due to the lacking indicators (i.e. physical indicator) and uneven data (less data of natural and mixed forests), the evaluation of soil fertility and the influences of stand characteristics on soil nutrient and fertility status need to be further studied.