Effects of trifluralin on soil microbial populations and the nitrogen fixation activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azotobacter chroococcum and Bradyrhizobium japonicum and the decomposition of trifluralin by soil microorganisms were studied. Trifluralin at lower concentrations from 0.5 mg microg(-1) dry soil to lower than 10.0 mg microg(-1) dry soil appeared to stimulate the growth of soil bacteria, actinomycetes, mould, and the pure cultures of Br. japonicum and A. chroococcum. Not only the colony amounts of these two species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria increased, grown on agar medium containing lower concentrations of trifluralin, but also these colonies also enlarged in size and appeared obviously in shorter formation time. However, trifluralin at higher concentrations would inhibit the development of microbial colonies both in amount and size. Trifluralin inhibited the activity of acetylene reduction of A. chroococcum when it was added at the same time of inoculation with A. chroococcum, but it showed a noteworthy stimulation to nitrogen fixation of A.chroococcum when it was put into culture after the cells of the nitrogen-fixing bacterium had grown well. The observation that soil microorganisms could use trifluralin as sole carbon and nitrogen resources for their growth, indicated that microorganisms could decompose trifluralin well.