Taking the typical forest types Pinus elliottii var. elliotttii, Araucaria cunninghamii, and Agathis australis in southern Queensland of Australia as test objects, an investigation was made on the soil soluble organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (SON), microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), and enzyme activities, aimed to understand the effects of forest type on soil quality. In the three forests, soil SOC content was 552-1154 mg kg(-1), soil SON content was 20.11-57.32 mg kg(-1), soil MBC was 42-149 mg kg(-1), soil MBN was 7-35 mg kg(-1), soil chitinase (CAS) activity was 2.96-7.63 microg g(-1) h(-1), soil leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activity was 0.18-0.46 microg g(-1) d(-1), soil acid phosphatase (ACP) activity was 16.5-29.6 microg g(-1) h(-1), soil alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity was 0.79-3.42 microg g(-1) h(-1), and soil beta-glucosidase (BG) activity was 3.71-9.93 microg g(-1) h(-1). There was a significant correlation between soil MBC and MBN. Soil SOC content and soil CAS and LAP activities decreased in the order of P. elliottii > A. cunninghamii > A. australis, soil SON content decreased in the order of A. cunninghamii > A. australis > P. elliottii and was significantly higher in A. cunninghamii than in P. elliottii forest (P < 0.05), soil MBC and MBN and AKP activity decreased in the order of A. australis > P. elliottii > A. cunninghamii, and soil ACP and BG activities decreased in the order of P. elliottii > A. australis > A. cunninghamii. Among the test soil biochemical factors, soil MBC, MBN, SON, and LAP had greater effects on the soil quality under the test forest types.