Decomposition and transformation of soil organic matter is the important component of carbon cycles in red soil ecosystem. Since the establishment of the Ecological Experimental Station of Red Soil, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1985, we focused on the key scientific issues in soil organic matter transformation and conducted several research works including the decomposition of organic materials in soil and their affecting factors, mineralization of soil organic carbon in field or incubation condition, accumulation of soil organic matter with different landuse and fertilization, and distribution of organic carbon in paddy soil aggregates. This paper reviewed the progress of the research works in the past 30 years, briefly listed the main results, and proposed a preliminary perspectives in the future.