Abstract: We analyzed the temporal and spatial variation characteristics and period of the first soaking rain in spring of 2 types of rain-permeable indicators according to the Julian day records and analyzed the relationship between the start date of the rain and the drought, based on the daily precipitation data of 14 meteorological stations in the eastern agricultural region of Qinghai from 1961 to 2017. The results showed that: (1) the first soaking rain in the eastern agricultural region of Qinghai was in an early trend and had obvious inter-decadal variation characteristics; the average start date was from May 6 to 14; (2) the start date of soaking rain gradually advanced from south to north, and the amount of soaking rain decreased from east to west; the start date was significantly and negatively correlated with latitude and precipitation in spring, and the amount of soaking rain was positively correlated with longitude; (3) there was a quasi-6-year oscillation period on the start date of the soaking rain; (4) the SPI index of the eastern agricultural region in the year and spring, summer and autumn did not increase significantly, indicating that the agricultural region as a whole was developing in a humid direction; the start date of soaking rain was significantly and negatively correlated with the spring and year SPI indices, indicating that the later the start date of soaking rain, the greater the likelihood of spring drought and the annual drought was. The first soaking rain in spring is of great significance for the growth of the crops in the semi-arid region and the abundance of the year.