Abstract: Background Acid rain is one of the most severe environmental problems caused by air pollution, and China has become the third most significant region affected by it, following Europe and North America. In nature, acid rain and drying-wetting cycles often occur simultaneously. Considerable research has been conducted on the individual effects of either acid rain or drying-wetting cycles on soil infiltration. However, the effects of drying-wetting cycles under acidic conditions on soil infiltration process remain unclear. Methods This study selected yellow-brown earth from the Three Gorges Reservoir Area as the test soil, with samples collected from Yichang City. The gathered soil was conveyed to China Three Gorges University, left to air dry, and filtered through a five-mm sieve to eliminate debris for future processing. The experiment was designed with four pH levels (pH = 7 as the control , and pH = 3, 4, and 5) and eight drying-wetting cycle frequencies (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 15 cycles). Yellow-brown earth was packed into a steel soil box in layers at a soil bulk density of 1.20 g/cm³ and an initial moisture content of 15%. The soil box was then immersed in a tank containing solutions of different pH levels for approximately 24 hours until the soil sample was completely saturated. Following gravity drainage, the soil box was placed in an oven at 60 °C and dried until the moisture content returned to 15%. Each complete soaking and drying process constituted one drying-wetting cycle. Cutting-ring infiltration tests were conducted to analyze the variations in the initial infiltration rate, mean infiltration rate, stable infiltration rate, and total infiltration under different treatments. Additionally, the applicability of three commonly used infiltration models was evaluated. Results 1) The infiltration rate of yellow-brown earth consistently exhibited a temporal trend of gradual decrease until reaching an ultimate steady state. While acidic conditions and drying-wetting cycles did not alter this overall infiltration pattern, they exerted a pronounced influence on the specific parameter values of the infiltration process. 2) Acidic conditions, drying-wetting cycles, and their interaction all exerted a highly significant effect (P < 0.01) on each infiltration parameter. Among these factors, drying-wetting cycles demonstrated the most pronounced influence, accounting for 68.83%, 74.46%, 74.22%, and 74.50% of the variance explained in the initial infiltration rate, mean infiltration rate, stable infiltration rate, and total infiltration, respectively. 3) As the pH value decreased, all soil infiltration parameters initially decreased and then increased, reaching their minimum at pH=4. Moreover, with an increasing number of drying-wetting cycles, the infiltration parameters progressively decreased and eventually stabilized. The synergistic effect of these two factors exacerbated the reduction in soil infiltration parameters. 4) Under the various tested conditions, the simulation performance ranked as follows: the Kostiakov model outperformed the Philip model, which in turn surpassed the Horton model, with the Kostiakov model demonstrating the best overall fit. Conclusion The infiltration capacity of yellow-brown earth was significantly altered by acidic conditions, drying-wetting cycles, and their combined interaction. This finding offers valuable insights for guiding ecological management and restoration strategies in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.