A field experiment was conducted in rice-wheat rotation system to study effect of application of wheat straw and nitrogen fertilizer in rice-growing season on N₂O emission from following wheat-growing season at Yixing of Jiangsu province in 2003-2004. Two levels of wheat straw application (0 and 3.75×103 kg/hm²) and three levels of nitrogen fertilizer application (N 0, 200 and 270 kg/hm²) were adopted in experiment. Results from variance analyses indicated that application of wheat straw in rice-growing season significantly reduced N₂O emission from following wheat-growing season, which happened mainly between wheat-sowing and returning-green periods (P<0.05). Application of nitrogen fertilizer in rice-growing season significantly decreased N₂O emission from following wheat-growing season, while no significant differences in N₂O emissions were observed between N 200 kg/hm² treatment and N 270 kg/hm² treatment. Significant positive correlation between N₂O flux and soil water content was found during wheat-growing period (P<0.05).