In order to clarify the effects of tillage methods and straw return on soil physical and chemical properties and enzyme activities in wheat-soybean rotation, the effects of plowing tillage without straw return (PTNR), plowing tillage with straw return (PTSR), rotary tillage without straw return (RTNR) and rotary tillage with straw return (RTSR) on soil bulk density, nutrient content and enzyme activity at maturity of wheat in 2018～2019. The study was conducted based on a long-term located experiment which initiated from September 2009. Compared with plowing tillage (PT), rotary tillage (RT) had a tendency to increase soil bulk density in the 15～30 cm soil layer and decreased in the 35～60 cm soil layer. Compared with PT, RT significantly reduced soil organic matter and total nitrogen content by 20.5 % and 21.2 %, respectively, in the 0～5 cm soil layer, as well as by 15.2 % and 9.7 % in the 5～15 cm soil layer. Compared with no straw return (NR), straw return (SR) significantly reduced the soil bulk density in the 0～5 cm and 5～15 cm soil layers by 2.9 % and 2.8 % respectively under PT, as well as 3.6 % and 2.9 % under RT, while significantly increased the contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium and the activities of urease, protease, invertase, alkaline phosphatase and catalase in the 0～15 cm soil layer under most conditions. Moreover, the increase under RT was greater than that under PT. However, the increase of the above soil indexes in the 15～35 cm soil layer under PT was greater than that under RT. Considering the interaction effects, RTSR was beneficial to increase soil nutrient content and enzyme activity in the surface layer (0～15 cm), while PTSR was beneficial to increase that in the 15～35 cm soil layer and the total nitrogen content in the 35～60 cm soil layer. In summary, straw return was beneficial to optimize soil bulk density, nutrient content and enzyme activity, but the effects varied with tillage methods. Plowing tillage and rotary tillage showed the better effects in 0～15 cm and 15～35 cm soil layers, respectively, which in turn made RTSR was beneficial to the improvement of soil quality in the surface layer and PTSR was beneficial to in the deeper soil layers. Therefore, the tillage mode of rotated plowing/rotary and straw return should be adopted in wheat-soybean rotation fields in dry farming areas.