Soil samples from 14 paddy fields and adjacent forestlands were collected across southwestern and eastern China. Using 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, bacterial community information was assessed and analyzed to investigate the differences in soil bacterial community structure and assembly processes under long-term land use as either paddy fields or woodlands. The results showed that the bacterial richness in paddy field was significantly higher than in woodland, and there were also significant differences in community composition and potential ecological functions. The relative abundances of Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae and δ-Proteobacteria were significantly higher in paddy field, whereas those of Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria and α-Proteobacteria were significantly lower compared to woodland. The paddy field enriched more photosynthesis, denitrification and biological nitrogen fixation functionsal genes. The bacterial communities in paddy field were mainly influenced by pH, organic matter content, and annual rainfall, while those in woodland were mainly influenced by pH and altitude. Deterministic processes, particularly heterogeneity selection (both 60%), dominated both paddy field and woodland bacterial communities (62% and 68%, respectively). Despite the equal proportion of heterogeneity selection, the intensity of heterogeneity selection in woodland was stronger, and community variation was more significant. The number of connections in co-occurrence networks increased with the strength of heterogeneity selection. At the same strength of heterogeneity selection, the co-occurrence network of woodland had more connections than that of paddy field. In conclusion, land use patterns not only affect community structure but also influence the potential ecological functions and assembly processes of bacterial community. In paddy fields, there could be a higher rate of nitrogen turnover, while woodlands may exhibit a greater potential for microbial interaction.