More and more linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) has contaminated the water and soil via pollution discharge,making it important to identify the ecological behavior and toxicity of LAS so as to carry out measures that will reduce its negative effects on the ecosystem. The ecological behavior of LAS, including degradation, migration, and plant uptake,in both soil-paddy rice and soil-soybean systems was studied. Reduction of LAS in pot and field plots followed the first order reaction kinetics with degradation half-lives of 35-50 days with LAS decreasing to very low concentrations after a season of crop growth. Strong migration ability for LAS was found and the breakthrough time in a 1.5 m soil monolith was significantly shortened to 23 days by preferential flow. Leachate volumes of soil-paddy and soil-soybean systems at preferential breakthrough were much different, while the leachate volumes at equilibrium governed by soil adsorption/desorption processes were very similar. Significant uptake of LAS in both paddy rice and soybeans was observed in pot and field experiments (P ＜ 0.05). In aquatic culture, 20 μg mL-1 and above of LAS significantly inhibited the growth of paddy seedlings (P ＜ 0.05). The critical concentration for LAS in soil inhibiting the growth and yield of paddy was 160 μg g-1; when higher, there was a strong negative influence, with decreases in height, spike length,and production; when lower than 80 μg g-1, paddy growth was stimulated. There was little effect of LAS on soybeans.