Denitrification actively takes place in dryland soils due to drastic increase of anthropogenic application of nitrogen fertilizer. Many studies have demonstrated that soil properties strongly influence the heterogeneity of denitrifying capacity in dryland soils, and the relationship between denitrification and soil properties of different soil types differentiate in some degree. However, most studies were restricted to small-scale spatial denitrifying activity and were difficult to uncover the variation of denitrifying capacity of different soils. Soil denitrifying enzyme activities (DEA) and physicochemical properties were studied over 90 sites in dryland soils derived from three different parent materials, including red soil derived from quaternary red clays (QRCS), alluvial soil derived from river deposits (AS), and black soil (BS). The results showed that DEAs were significantly different in the three tested soils. DEA in AS was ranged from N₂O 22.22 to 579.09 μg/(kg?h) with an average of N₂O 213.34 μg/(kg?h), significantly higher than those of other two soils. The average DEA in BS was N₂O 139.68 μg/(kg?h), higher but not significantly than that of QRCS with an average DEA of N₂O 98.53 μg/(kg?h). Correlation analysis based on all soil samples showed that DEA significantly positively correlated with pH, indicating that pH might be the key factor of DEA. Furthermore, soil organic matter (SOM) also influenced DEA. Soil DEAs and their influential factors were different in different sampling sites even with the same parent material. SOM, pH or clay content was the dominant factor for DEAs of QRCS, AS and BS, respectively. This study suggests that DEAs are different in different soil types, hence soil type should be considered when adopting measures to decrease nitrogen loss through denitrification.