The ANOVA results showed that degradation of metsulfuron-methyl was different among various soils. Five principal factors were selected by principal factor analysis and they represented 90.4% of total information. The multivariate regression equations were established between soil properties and metsulfuron-methyl residues after stepwise regression analysis. The partial correlation and path analysis indicated that soil pH and microbial activity were the most significant factors controlling the degradation of metsulfuron-methyl in soils.