In order to identify the effects of paddy rice cultivation history on wheat production, three rice-wheat rotation fields with different paddy rice cultivation years (2 years, 18 years, and >100 years) were selected for study in the Jianghan Plain. Soil samples and wheat plants were collected in different wheat growth periods to measure the moisture, nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^-—N) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺—N) contents in soils, and even the wheat yield. The results showed as follow: (1) With the increase of paddy rice cultivation years, soil moisture, NO₃^-—N and NH₄⁺—N contents increased significantly. The highest average soil water content was observed in the >100 years field (0.42 cm³/cm³), followed by the 18 years field (0.39 cm³/cm³) and the 2 years field (0.36 cm³/cm³). NO₃^-—N and NH₄⁺—N were enriched in the 0—20 cm soil layer, and the average NO₃^-—N content and NH₄⁺—N content in this soil layer was 12.26 and 6.01 mg/kg, 12.74 and 8.33 mg/kg, and 14.88 and 11.69 mg/kg for the 2 years, 18 years, and >100 years paddy fields, respectively. (2) The wheat yields decreased with the extending paddy rice cultivation years, which was 4 068, 3 080 and 2 469 kg/hm² for the 2 years, 18 years, and >100 years paddy rice fields, respectively, and were characterized by the decreasing of number of available tillers and ears per plant. (3) Water logging in the plough layer was the main reason for the reduced wheat yield, rather than the differences in nitrogen content. It is necessary to enhance soil water drainage rate to reduce the risk of water logging on wheat growth in the fields with long paddy rice cultivation years.