Abstract: Batch equilibrium experiments were used to investigate the effects of organic matter on the adsorption of p, p′-DDE in soil. The results showed that the adsorption rate of p, p′-DDE in soil and shallow aquifer soil was fast initially and then slowed down before reaching the adsorption equilibrium. The adsorption kinetics curves of the soil and shallow aquifer soil could be fitted by the first-order and second-order reaction kinetic equations, which means that the adsorption of p, p′-DDE in soil and aquifer samples was mainly simple adsorption, but still included surface adsorption and particle internal diffusion. Moreover, the sorption isotherm correlation coefficients (R²) of p, p′-DDE on the soil and shallow aquifer soil were greater than 0.95, fitting both Freundlich and linear equations, but the Freundlich equation was better for the aquifer samples. The adsorption of p, p′-DDE in soil was mainly monolayer adsorption, while it was more complex in sediments with multi-molecular layer adsorption. After removing endogenous dissolved organic matter (DOM), the adsorption of p, p′-DDE in samples increased, and the order of samples from low to high was 1-1 (0-10 cm) < 1-2 (120-150 cm) < 2-4 (100-120 cm). This showed that the adsorption of p, p′-DDE in soil and sediment might be prohibited by the endogenous DOM, and the inhibiting effect was stronger with the higher content of DOM. The exogenous DOM had an inhibiting effect on the adsorption of p, p′-DDE in soil samples. The adsorption capacity of p, p′-DDE in samples had a positive correlation with the clay mineral content after removing organic matter.