Abstract: The inadequate irrigation treatment and normal irrigation treatment were conducted at different growth stages of late rice. Soil moisture content, daily evapotranspiration and various meteorological factors were measured during the experiment, and the changes of soil moisture and daily evapotranspiration under inadequate irrigation at each growth stage and their correlation with soil moisture content and various meteorological factors were analyzed. soil moisture attenuation and its influence mechanism in paddy field in Poyang Lake basin during seasonal drought period. The results showed that: (1) Under inadequate irrigation, the decrease rate of soil moisture at different growth stages of late rice was greater than that under normal irrigation. The maximum daily average decrease rate of soil moisture content was in the early tillering period, and the minimum period was in the heading and flowering period. (2) The daily evapotranspiration of late rice fluctuated up and down irregularly, with the highest at the early tillering stage and the lowest at heading and flowering stage. In addition, the average daily evapotranspiration of each growth stage was lower than that of normal irrigation. (3) There was a positive correlation between daily evapotranspiration and soil moisture content at each growth stage, and the positive correlation was very significant at the early stage of jointing and booting, which was the most sensitive to water shortage, and was prone to drought in short term. The correlation between daily evapotranspiration and meteorological factors in each growth period was inconsistent.