Abstract: To study the effect of carbonaceous materials on forage corn growth and the improvement on soda saline soil, and obtain recommended amount of different materials and improve materials for the study area, an experiment is conducted on representative soda saline soil in northern Shanxi Province. We studied the effects of different application rates of four kinds of carbonaceous materials, including weathered coal, biochar, cattle manure and corn stalk. The results showed that the carbonaceous material effectively increased the emergence rate of forage corn. Weathered coal and cattle manure treatments were superior to that of biochar and corn stalk. Fresh grass yield followed a trend of cattle manure> weathered coal> biochar> corn stalk. The application of each carbonaceous material significantly increased the fresh grass yield. Cattle manure and weathered coal treatments had better growth characteristics, and cattle manure 150% opt treatment fresh yield (76.83 t/hm2) and weathered coal 100%opt treatment fresh yield (70.30 t/hm2) were higher than that of the control by 31.12 and 23.49 t/hm2, respectively. By the effect function method, we analyzed the yield of each material, and finally determined the suitable application rate of weathered coal, biochar, cattle manure and corn stalk in the study area was 30.0- 37.5, 24.0- 27.0, 52.5- 63.0 and 54.0- 60.0 t/hm2, respectively. Furthermore, application of carbonaceous material could reduce soil pH value. Weathered coal had the best effect, and the soil pH value was reduced by 0.09-0.66. Different carbon materials had different effects on soil electrical conductivity (EC). Cattle manure regulated soil salt better, soil EC of each treatment was significantly reduced in comparison with control. Carbonaceous materials could also increase soil organic matter and the weathered coal treatment had the best effects. All in all, carbonaceous materials could be used to improve and utilize soda saline soil. The effects of weathered coal and cattle manure applied to soil improvement are better than that of biochar and corn stalk, the recommended amount can effectively improve soil environment and increase crop yield.