Abstract: Soil aggregates form the basis of soil structure. An in-depth analysis of the relationship between soil aggregates and soil water from the microscopic perspective of soil can provide theoretical support for further clarifying how soil structure regulates the utilization of field water and fertilizer after land preparation in hilly and mountainous slopes. In this study, the staining tracer test and the scanning electron microscope experiment were combined, and image analysis and statistical analysis were employed to explore the interaction between soil aggregate characteristics and soil water status under two typical land preparation measures (horizontal and reverse slope, with the slope farmland as the control). The results indicate that: Under the same external water supply conditions, staining tracer tests were conducted on the plots under different land preparation measures and the staining was characterized as the movement and distribution of water in the soil. The analysis reveals that in terms of the spatial distribution of soil water, the spatial distribution of soil water in the field was concentrated in the shallow space of 0-10 cm of the soil, which was significantly smaller than the distribution range of soil water in the slope farmland field. Regarding the spatial movement of soil water, the degree of change in soil water movement in the field after horizontal and reverse slope preparation was 11.09% and 7.14% higher than that in the slope land, respectively. Microscopic images of soil aggregates magnified by 1000 times were obtained through scanning electron microscopy, and then quantitative analysis was carried out using pore analysis software. It was found that the spatial distribution of soil aggregates after horizontal and reverse slope cultivation was more uniform (with average fractal dimensions of 1.16 and 1.18, respectively) than that of the slope cultivated land (with an average fractal dimension of 1.19). Land preparation reduced the difference in pore size composition in soil aggregates by 5.81% (horizontal) and 10.10% (reverse slope), respectively, and the spatial distribution direction of pores in soil aggregates in the horizontal field was more complex (with a probability entropy of 0.9578). The spatial distribution and movement of soil water were analyzed by coupling coordination degree model, and a reference value was obtained to characterize the correlation degree of soil water. The coupling coordination degrees of the horizontal platform, reverse slope platform and slope farmland were 0.62, 0.58 and 0.56, respectively. Gray correlation was employed to analyze the reference value of soil water status and various indexes of aggregates, and it was discovered that the degree of spatial distribution uniformity of soil aggregate characteristics on the horizontal platform had the greatest influence on the spatial distribution and movement of soil water in the field (with a correlation degree of 0.812). However, the size of soil aggregates in the reverse slope and undisturbed slope cultivated land had the greatest influence on the spatial distribution and movement of soil water (with correlation degrees of 0.708 and 0.698, respectively). Therefore, land preparation measures can significantly alter the soil aggregate status of slope farmland and subsequently affect the soil moisture in the field. To a certain extent, selecting suitable land preparation measures for slope farmland in hilly and mountainous areas can effectively improve the soil structure, regulate the soil water status, and promote agricultural production.