<p>Soil water dynamics plays a crucial role in hydrological processes and final structural stability of ecological slope. However, soil water response in ecological slopes to different influencing factors is still unclear, due to the coupling of meteorological and topographical factors and engineering disturbances from ecological restoration. In this study, a total of 16 outdoor model slopes were constructed to monitor soil water content (SWC) in real time. Classical statistics were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variation of SWC in different ecological slopes. The response of soil water to meteorology, topography and restoration mode were discussed. At last, Pearson correlation and redundancy analysis (RDA) were adopted to exploring the controlling factors of soil water for ecological slope. Results indicate that meteorological factors controlled the seasonal variation of soil water, regardless of ecological restoration implementation. The SWC increases with precipitation, and decreases with increasing wind speed, humidity, and solar radiation. Temperature also shows a positive correlation with the SWC, though its contribution is limited. Slope gradient mainly drives soil water redistribution, and orientation affected the soil evaporation space by altering sunlight exposure time, validating the higher SWC in northern slopes. Vegetation type and substrate also affect soil water distribution. For the vegetation type, grass has the most significant effect, followed by grass-shrub and shrub patterns. Correlation analysis and RDA results demonstrate that vegetation, precipitation, temperature, substrate, and gradient are the main controlling factors for soil water in ecological slopes. These findings can provide references for scientifically design of ecological restoration and improving structural stability for slopes.</p>