Background Simulated rainfall experiment is an important method in the mechanism study of soil erosion process due to its characteristics of easy control and study process expediting, and it has been applied around the world since the 1960s.

Methods We collected all relevant literatures from databases etc., and made a statistical analysis of the literatures of erosion-related researches by simulated rainfall experiments from the aspects of time courses, spatial distribution, research topics, test-bed types, rainulator types, research methods, research facilities and their distribution in China.

Results 1) In China, the application of simulated rainfall in the domain of soil erosion relevant can be divided into three phases:initial stage throughout the 1960s and 1970s, slow developing stage throughout the 1970s and 80s and the high-speed development after entering the 21st century. 2) In China, the erosion-related researches by simulated rainfall experiments focus on the Loess Plateau, the main tested soil types are loess, red soil, purple soil, black soil and limestone soil, the hot research topic is about rill and interrill erosion, the primary test-bed type is the uniform slope, the major type of rainulators are the side-spraying and down-spraying with stationary nozzles. 3) Involved research facilities and documents are concentrated in Beijing and Shaanxi, respectively. Research institutions headed by Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, colleges and universities represented by Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, are the main force of erosion-related researches by simulated rainfall experiments in China, some experiments stations and administrative units are also involved in the flood. At last, the problems existing in the artificial rainfall test methods and its future direction are proposed respectively from the aspects of rainfall devices and simulation methods. To elevate values for application and universalization of soil erosion simulation experiments results, it is a necessary path to ascertain erosivity parameters of various rainulators and to normalize operating methods of simulated rainfall experiments.

Conclusions These findings of the study could provide basic research datum for the exact grasp of research methods of soil erosion simulation experiments and a better acquaintance with the scientific research and practical work on water and soil conservation in China.