This research investigated the effects of drip and spray irrigation on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and root growth of tea seedlings, and could provide a theoretical basis for scientific irrigation and fertilization. Three types of fertilizer application were set up, soil application (SA), spray application (FA) and drip application (DA). After 15, 30, 45 and 60 days, the soil was divided into three spatial zones according to the difference in horizontal and vertical distance from the center of the topsoil of the culture bowl, and pH, conductivity, nutrients and biological properties were observed. In the pot experiment of tea seedlings, six treatments were set up, including two nitrogen levels and three fertilization methods of soil application, spraying and dropping. The root growth and morphology of tea seedlings were observed. The results of the soil culture showed that there was no significant difference between FA and SA treatments in different spatial soil regions, while there were significant differences between DA and FA. After 60 days, in the soil region 5 cm horizontally and 0—10 cm vertically from the center point, compared with FA, the conductivity, pH, content of alkali-hydrolyzed N, available K and available P of DA increased by 35.6%, 30.7%, 40.6%, 34.3% and 74.8%, respectively, and bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes in the region of DA increased by 174.6%, 167.0% and 289.0%, respectively. The activities of urease and acid phosphatase in the soil region of DA showed opposite trend, decreased by 42.5% and 31.4%, respectively, compared with FA. The results of pot experiment showed that the overall root growth of tea trees followed the order of FA＞SA＞DA, and the root fresh weight, total root length, root volume, root tip number, branch number and cross number of tea seedlings in the FA treatment were significantly higher than those of DA, while there was no significant difference in the root promoting effect among different N levels. In summary, fertilization methods had significant effects on the spatial distribution of soil nutrients, soil biological properties and root growth of tea seedlings. Compared with SA and FA, the conductivity, nutrient content and microbial population in the micro domain at the center of the DA drip head increased significantly, and there was a significant micro domain aggregation effect, while the urease and acid phosphatase activities decreased. DA significantly inhibited the root growth of tea seedlings, while FA significantly promoted the root growth and morphological establishment of tea seedlings.