Soil nutrients are the basis of soil fertility, and understanding their contents and distribution characteristics can provide a scientific basis for improving soil conditions and building an efficient farmland shelter forest system. In this study, the regional soils of the Yellow River old course in Funing and Lianshui counties, Yancheng City were taken as the research objects, and hierarchical analysis (AHP) and material element analysis model were combined to analyze and evaluate soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK). The results show that:1) As far away from the embankment, SOM, TN, AN, TK and AK show increasing trends, TP shows a decreasing trend, while AP shows a decreasing trend in forest land and an increasing trend in non-forest land; 2) The levels of SOM (mainly in 2-3 grades) and TN (mainly in 1-2 grades) of forest land are significantly higher than that non-forest land, while no significant difference is found in the other nutrients between forest land and non-forest land; 3) Within the old Yellow River Road <0.5 km, 0.5-1.0 km and 1.0-1.5 km, soil nutrient levels are relatively rich Ⅱ, rich Ⅰ, and rich Ⅰ for forest land, respectively, while are poor Ⅳ, moderate Ⅲ and moderate Ⅲ in non-forest land, respectively. In conclusion, the construction of farmland shelter forest can effectively promote the formation of SOM and improve the level of soil nutrients, and on this basis, proper application of phosphorus fertilizer can further improve soil fertility and promote the ecological and economic benefits.