[Objective] The response mechanism of soil moisture in moving dunes according to different precipitation patterns was discussed to provide a reference to prevent degraded vegetation and land desertification of grasslands on desert steppes.[Methods] With the desert steppe in Damao Banner of Inner Mongolia being used as an example ecosystem, based on the hourly soil moisture and precipitation of soil moisture at automatic observation stations from 2016 to 2018, statistical methods were used to study the effects of precipitation on soil moisture.[Results] When the precipitation intensity was lower, the soil moisture response depth was 10 cm, 20 cm, and 50 cm, respectively. The days of the moisture response was 6 d, 7-9 d, and 10 d accordingly when the precipitation amount was 5.1-10.0 mm, 10.1-25.0 mm and >25.0 mm. The higher precipitation intensity led to deeper infiltration when the precipitation amount was 5.1-15.0 mm or 20.1-25.0 mm. When the precipitation was 15.1-20.0 mm, higher precipitation intensity corresponded to shallower infiltration. When the precipitation intensity was lower, the soil moisture of the 0-10 cm soil layer responded significantly after one hour regarding the number of total precipitation-amounts of 5.1-10.0 mm, 15.1-20.0 mm, and 20.1-25.0 mm, respectively. However, when the precipitation intensity was higher, the soil moisture of the 0-10 cm soil layer responded significantly after 5 h, 8 h, and 8 h, respectively.[Conclusion] The response of soil moisture to precipitation is mainly dependent on the precipitation pattern, including the precipitation amount, intensity, and duration. The intensity had positive feedback on soil moisture infiltration depth and negative feedback on soil moisture infiltration velocity when the precipitation amount was 5.1-15.0 mm or 20.1-25.0 mm. However, the precipitation intensity had a negative feedback on soil moisture infiltration depth and velocity when the precipitation amount was 15.1-20.0 mm.