Abstract: At present, the soil and water conservation zoning work of prefecture-level cities in China is lagging behind. Yichang, as a sub-central city of Hubei Province, is suffering from severe soil and water loss in the city. In the aim of guiding the zoning work for soil and water conservation, we present a four-level division of soil and water conservation for Yichang City as a case study, and evaluated the basic functions of each zone in line with the local conditions based on the results of national and provincial water and soil conservation planning. The soil and water conservation zoning of Yichang City comprises four levels, of which the first three levels follow the national first-level, second-level and third-level zonings. On this basis, the fourth level refines as six sub-zones: the hilly farmland protection zone along the Yangtze River Plain, the mountainous ecological conservation zone along the Xiangxi River, the mountainous hills and soil conservation zone of the Three Gorges reservoir area, the mountainous hills and soil conservation zone of Juzhang River, the mountainous water conservation and soil conservation zone of Qingjiang River, and the human settlement environment maintenance zone of central city. Such six sub-zones involves five basic functions of soil and water conservation: farmland protection, ecological maintenance, soil conservation, water conservation, and human settlements environment maintenance. In conclusion, the division of water and soil conservation zones in prefecture-level cities should follow national and provincial water and soil conservation zoning on one hand, and meanwhile highlight local characteristics and adapt to local conditions on the other. The soil erosion control work in Yichang City should put prevention first, protect water sources, and strengthen the supervision focuses of soil and water conservation.

Key words: urban soil erosion, soil and water conservation zoning, functional evaluation, adjust measures to local conditions, supervision focus, Yichang City