Abstract: In this study, Taoyuan county was chosen to represent the subtropical hilly red soil region, and the topsoils (0-20 cm) were sampled and soil organic carbon (SOC) analyzed with different land uses (forest, paddy, and upland) in 2011. The SOC data were compared with those collected in the second soil survey period (1979). The purpose was to analyze the temporal changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) with different land uses during the last 32 years (1979-2011). The results showed that the average SOC content in forest soil, paddy soil, and upland soils was 13.10 g/kg, 14.15 g/kg, and 11.17 g/kg, respectively in 1979, and was 18.28 g/kg, 18.89 g/kg, and 12.19 g/kg, separately in 2011. During the last 32 years, SOC content was increased by 40% in forest soil, 33% in paddy soil, and 9% in upland soil, with the larger increment in forest and paddy soils but smaller one in upland soil. In addition, the average SOC density in the forest soil, paddy soil, and upland soil was increased from 32.82 t/hm2, 33.62 t/hm2, and 28.99 t/hm2 in 1979 to 44.39 t/hm2, 43.50 t/hm2, and 33.53 t/hm2 in 2011, with the increased rate of 35% (0.36 t/(hm2.a)), 29% (0.31 t/(hm2.a)), and 16% (0.14 t/(hm2.a)), respectively. The increased rate of SOC density in the forest soil and the paddy soil was 2.6 and 2.2 times of that in the upland soil, respectively. Thus, soils with different land uses were all “carbon sink” in the subtropical hilly red soil region during the last 32 years, of which forest soil and paddy soil conveyed stronger SOC sequestration capacity than upland soil. The soil carbon sequestration capacity contributes to the larger SOC accumulation in the subtropical hilly red soil region.