In order to study the response process of different soil types in desert steppe to precipitation, the sierozem, aeolian sandy soil, and bedrock weathered residual soil were selected as the research objects in Wanjigou village, Yanchi country, Ningxia. The infiltration process was determined by double-ring sampling method, and the infiltration characteristics of the three were analyzed and compared. The models were used to fit the soil infiltration process. The results indicated that three types of soil infiltration process can be divided into three stages. The first stage was from 0 to 5 minutes, in which the infiltration rate decreased rapidly; during 5 min to 10 min, the infiltration rate brought a gradual decreased and tended to be stable, and reached a relatively stable state after 30 min. By comparing the initial infiltration rate, stable infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration rate of 60 minutes in different soils, it was found that the infiltration characteristics of different soil types were different. Soil infiltration of the aeolian sandy soil was the best, followed by bedrock weathered residual soil, while sierozem was the worst. The differences in soil infiltration characteristics were caused by the differences in soil structures. The analysis of the differences in soil physical properties showed that the mechanical composition and non-capillary porosity were the main factors affecting soil infiltration in the study area. Using four soil infiltration models to fit the infiltration process of different types of soil, the universal empirical model was more suitable for describing the change of soil infiltration rate with time in the study area.