In order to explore the impact of rainfall and land use on the slope soil erosion characteristics of lateritic red soil in South China, the runoff and erosion sediment characteristics of different land use types (slope farmland, orchard, artificial pasture and abandoned land) were analyzed quantitatively through the observation experiment of natural rainfall, and the impact of rainfall types and land use on the erosion and sediment yield of slope, as well as the relationships of rainfall parameters and slope water and sediment were discussed. The results showed that the rainfall in 2018 was mainly from May to September, and the monthly rainfall was constituted by one or several rainstorms and heavy rainstorms. (2) The annual runoff and erosion of slope farmland were the largest, and the runoff amount of farmland was about 3.4, 8.0 and 6.0 times of orchard, artificial pasture and abandoned land, respectively, and the sediment yield of slope farmland was about 340.5, 1 605.3 and 1 720.3 times of orchard, artificial pasture and abandoned land, respectively. (3) Runoff amount on the slope surface kept a stable level during the early period of the year, then the fluctuation increased during the late period of the year, while the trend of sediment yield was opposite to that of runoff amount, and the erosion and sediment yield were mainly concentrated in the early period. (4) Runoff generated by heavy rainstorm and large heavy rainstorm accounted for more than 75% of the annual runoff for all land use types, while the erosion generated by heavy rainstorm and large heavy rainstorm accounted for 99.1%, 71.8%, 52.3% and 51.6% of the annual erosion for slope farmland, orchard, artificial pasture and abandoned land, respectively. (5) Rainfall amount and maximum rainfall intensity in 30 min were the most important parameters for soil erosion, and rainfall duration and vegetation coverage also significant affected runoff amount for orchard, artificial pasture and abandoned land. The results were helpful to clarify the soil erosion characteristic of lateritic red soil under different land use status and provide reference for regional water conservation of South China.