Balance application of mineral fertilizers and farmyard manure significantly influence the total organic matter as well as soil properties. Effects of long-term (1982-2003) applications of N, P and K chemical fertilizers and farmyard Manure (M) on Total Organic C (TOC) and Total N (TN), Light Fraction Organic C (LFOC) and N (LFON), microbial biomass C (MB-C) and N (MB-N), nitrate-N, total and extractable P, total and exchangeable K, and pH in the 0-20 cm depth of a calcareous desert soil were determined using a field experiment established in 1982 at Zhangye, Gansu, China. A rotation of irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)-corn ( Zea mays L.) was used to compare the CK, N, NP, NPK, M, MN, MNP and MNPK treatments. After the corn harvest in autumn, soil samples were collected from each plot. Annual additions of chemical fertilizers for 22 years increased or tended to increase mass of TOC, LFOC, MB-C, total N, LFON, MB-N, nitrate-N, total P, extractable P, total K and exchangeable K in top soil. This effect was substantially enhanced with farmyard manure application. There was no noticeable effect of fertilizers and farmyard manure application on soil pH. There was a good correlation between some soil properties and straw yield. For the eight treatments (CK, N, NP, NPK, M, MN, MNP and MNPK), the values of correlation coefficient (r-values) for the straw yield with the TOC, LFOC, MB-C, total N, LFON, MB-N, nitrate-N, total P, extractable P, total K and exchangeable K were 0.60, 0.62, 0.65, 0.65, 0.95**, 0.72*, 0.59, 0.83**, 0.80**, 0.79* and 0.76*, respectively. In conclusion, the findings indicated improvement in soil quality and fertility with long-term addition of fertilizers and farmyard manure, particularly when fertilizers and farmyard manure were combined.