Abstract: Recreation ecology is a new area of ecological application. Xiangshan Park is a famous scenic spot near Beijing. The tourists in this park centralized in both temporal and spatial aspect. In this paper, the degree of recreational disturbance was determined by the road situation. The effects of recreational disturbance on the characters of population, community and soil in the Cotinus coggygria var. cinerea forest (also named red leaf forest) which is the most important recreational resource in Xiangshan park, were studied. The results of this paper can be used for recreational ecological planning of this park.