The Napahai plateau wetland,located in the low latitude and high altitude areas of China where the economic development is relatively backward,is sensitive to climate change. Small changes of natural environment have a profound impact on the region. In order to understand the characteristics of soil organic carbon content under the dual influence of climate change and human activities in the Napahai plateau wetland,the characteristics of soil organic carbon (SOC) in meadows with different degradation in the area were studied by spatial grid sampling survey. The results indicated that: (1) With the meadow vegetation degradation and soil depth increasing,the soil water content decreased and bulk density increased significantly. (2) From non-degraded meadow to severely degraded meadow,the aboveground biomass of vegetation declined from 321.4 g/m~2 to 142.1 g/m~2 continuously. (3) At 50 cm soil depth,w(SOC) of nondegraded meadow,lightly degraded meadow,moderately degraded meadow and severely degraded meadow were 28.21,20.59,18.01, and 14.81 g/kg respectively. With the degradation degree increasing,the loss w(SOC) was about 50%,and the SOC density decreased from 40.92 kg/m~3 to 25.23 kg/m~3. (4) SOC density of Stellerachamae jasme meadow showed a relative higher level,lower only than the non-degraded meadow. (5) There was significant positive correlation between w (SOC) and soil water content (P < 0.05),and significant negative correlation between w(SOC) and soil bulk density (P < 0.01). The research shows that the decrease of vegetation cover and biomass,the decrease of soil water content and the increase of soil bulk density resulted from the degradation of wetland vegetation,which eventually led to the loss of about 50% of w(SOC). In addition,it may cause more than 45% of the w (SOC) loss at 0-20 cm soil depth from a seasonally flooded marsh or swamp meadow to this study's meadow landscape,which is perennial exposed above the surface of water compared to similar studies.