Purpose: Slight changes in soil respiration significantly affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and the global carbon balance. How soil respiration responds to the change of precipitation and what factors drive the change of soil respiration under the change of soil water content remain largely unexplored.Materials and methods: This study conducted a manipulative field experiment along a precipitation gradient [reducing precipitation by 50% (W1), natural precipitation (W2), increasing precipitation by 50% (W3), and increasing precipitation by 100% (W4)] in a desert steppe within the Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.Results and discussion: We found that the soil respiration rate increased first and then decreased, the peak appeared in August over the 2-year growing season (June to October), which was consistent with the change of soil water content. With the increase of soil water content, soil respiration tended to increase. Plant properties had the strongest explanatory to soil respiration, followed by soil physicochemical properties and biological properties, and soil respiration was also regulated by these three factors. Soil water content not only directly affected soil respiration, but also affected soil respiration by promoting plant biomass and inhibiting soil nutrients.Conclusions: Soil water content was an important factor affecting soil respiration rates, carbon released from the soil increased when precipitation increased. Plant biomass and soil nutrients were the driving factors of soil respiration under precipitation change.