In order to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics of soil CO₂ emission in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as their responses to topography, soil and meteorology factors, and the contributions of environmental factors to soil CO₂ emission variations. Based on the 1 km resolution soil CO₂ emission products from 2000 to 2014 in the Yangtze River Delta, this study calculated the multi-year mean value and variation coefficient of soil CO₂ emission per pixel, and analyzed the changes in soil CO₂ emissions along gradients of different environmental factors. On this basis, the geographic detector method was further employed to quantify the contributions of topographic, soil, and meteorological factors to the variations in soil CO₂ emissions. The results showed that: 1) There were obvious spatial differences in soil CO₂ emission in the Yangtze River Delta, with relatively uniform distribution in the northern part and obvious spatial differences in the southern part; the variations of soil CO₂ emission in eastern coastal areas of Zhejiang Province, central and western areas of Anhui Province, Nantong City and Shanghai City were fluctuated sharply over the years. 2) Soil CO₂ emission showed an increasing trend with rising elevation and soil organic carbon content, a decreasing trend with increasing temperature and soil bulk density, periodic fluctuations with increasing downward shortwave radiation, an initial increase followed by a decrease with rising evapotranspiration and soil moisture, and primarily a decrease followed by an increase with higher clay and silt contents. 3) From the perspective of the entire Yangtze River Delta, organic carbon content contributed the most to soil CO₂ emission. In croplands and impervious surfaces, meteorological factors had the greatest influence on soil CO₂ emission, while in forestlands, organic carbon content contributed the most to soil CO₂ emission. In conclusion, the spatial distribution of soil CO₂ emission varies significantly and exhibits strong temporal fluctuations, with soil organic carbon content having the greatest impact on soil CO₂ emission.