Using the meteorological data and the soil hydro and thermal data at different depths in the active layer measured at the Tanggula observation site, the soil hydro and thermal characteristics of the active layer during freezing and thawing period in the permafrost region with higher elevations were analyzed. Results showed that the variation laws of soil temperature at the different soil layers were consistent. Variation of soil temperature lagged to air temperature and the lag interval increased with the soil depth increasing. The surface soil temperature changed relatively greatly but the change became gentle when the depth increased. Decrease of air temperature resulted in decrease of soil temperature, which led to water transfer. During the freezing period, the water migrated to the freezing front but the middle of the active layers were dry; when in the thawing period, there were high moisture content in the bottom; it reflected that the water migrated to phase change interface during freezing and thawing period. The unfrozen water content and soil temperature relationship were fitted and the mean value of correlation coefficient was 0.89. This research provides the foundation for the hydro-thermal coupling simulation on freezing- thawing soils in the active layer in permafrost regions with higher elevations in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.