Adsorption of acid phosphatase on goethite, kaolinite and two colloids from the soils in central and south China in the presence of organic acids and phosphate was studied. With the increase of anion concentration, the ability in decreasing enzyme adsorption followed the sequence: phosphate>tartrate>oxalate>acetate. Acetate showed promotive effect on enzyme adsorption at lower anion concentrations whereas oxalate, tartrate and phosphate compete effectively with enzyme in a broad range of anion concentration. The adsorption isotherms of enzyme in most of the anionic systems studied conformed to the Langmuir equation. Phosphate reduced the affinity of enzyme on goethite more significantly than the other anions. However, tartrate decreased the affinity of enzyme on soil colloids and kaolinite to a greater extent than phosphate, oxalate and acetate. This observation suggested that the impact of anions on enzyme adsorption varies with anionic type and the surface characteristics of soil components. The influence of the addition order of ligand on enzyme adsorption was found greater in tartrate and phosphate systems. In general, simultaneous introduction of ligand and enzyme into the system had the lowest enzyme adsorption, showing more competition between ligand and enzyme molecules in this system. Data from this work indicated that the status and activity of enzyme in certain soil microenvironments especially the rhizosphere where various organic and inorganic ligands are active can be altered and may be completely different from the bulk soil.