The litter and soil of the forest park in Dongguan may have good water conservation functions, but the information is lack. In order to explore the water conservation capacity of different forest litter and soil, the study for 5 types of 30-year non-commercial forests were conducted in July 2020. Drying method and experimental water soaking method were used to study the water holding capacity and physical properties of litter and soil (0-20 cm). The results showed that the thickness of the litter layer of the ecological public welfare forests varied from 1.5 to 10.5 cm, and the biomass varied from 0.32 to 5.73 t/hm². The rank of the maximum water holding capacity and effective interception power showed that Pinus elliottii-Psychotria asiatica forest>Acacia mangium-Garcinia oblongifolia forest>Machilus chekiangensis-Litsea rotundifoliaf forest>Schima superba-Camellia oleifera forest>Eucalyptus robusta-Schefflera heptaphylla forest. It was also found that the cumulative water holding capacity had a significant logarithmic relationship with the immersion time, and the water absorption rate had a significant power function relationship with the immersion time; the cumulative water loss and the water loss time have a significant three-time relationship, and the water loss rate and water loss time showed a significant reciprocal relationship. The soil water holding capacity of different types of forest stands was directly related to the size of porosity. The higher the total soil porosity and capillary porosity, soil bulk density decreaed, while soil water retention capacity increased with increasing total soil porosity and capillary porosity. This study can provide references for sustainable forest management and ecological benefit evaluation in this area.