The water-saving rice cultivation(WSRC)modes are good strategies dealing with the seasonaldrought problem in the hilly region of southern China.Few studies were conducted to address the effects ofthese practices on soil microbial communities.This study aims to assess the effect of WSRC practice on soilmicrobial quantity,soil microbial biomass C(SMB-C)and soil microbial biomass N(SMB-N)in a field experiment.The results showed that significantly differences were observed between water-saving cultivation andconventional double cropping in terms of both soil microbial quantity and soil microbial biomasses.Comparedwith conventional practice,the implementation of WSRC accelerated the proliferation of soil bacteria and actinomycetes,reduced the proliferation of fungi,and increased SMB-C and SMB-N.The greatest number ofsoil bacteria and actinomycetes and the highest contents of SMB-C and SMB-N were found in double croppingwith flood-drought rotation in comparison of other WSRC practices.We concluded that WSRC practices areof great significance for the sustainability of rice cultivation by stimulating soil microbial activities.