Abstract:  A field experiment was conducted in Zhashui County of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China in 2011 to study the effects of biological organic fertilizer on the microbial community’s metabolic activity in a soil planted with chestnut (Castanea mollissima). Three treatments were installed, i.e., control, compound fertilizer, and biological organic fertilizer. Soil samples were collected at harvest, and the metabolic activity was tested by Biolog method. In the treatment of biological organic fertilizer, the average well color development, Shannon evenness, richness, and McIntosh indices of microbial community were all significantly higher than the other two treatments. As compared with the control, applying biological organic fertilizer improved the ability of soil microbes in utilizing the carbon sources of carbohydrates and polymers, while applying compound fertilizer was in opposite. The principal component analysis demonstrated that there was an obvious difference in the soil microbial community among different treatments, mainly depending on the species of carbohydrates and amino acids.