¹⁵N tracing method was used in a field experiment to study movement and fate of nitrogen fertilizer in paddy fields different in cultivation history and slope position. Results showed that at the rice maturing stage, nitrogen fertilizer recovery rate and residue rate in paddy fields either new or old ranged between 18.71% and 29.10%, and between 5.97% and 18.73%. Old paddy fields were higher than new fields in ¹⁵N residue rate, but in the 15~50 cm layer, it was just the reverse. ¹⁵N loss rate from red soil paddy fields was as high as 52.24 %~68.91%. besides, in terms of concentrations of NH₄⁺-N and NO₃^--N in leachate from soil layers of the experiment plots, the layers were in the order of plough layer>plowpan.