Through selecting comparative plots with the close location,same site indexes and similar tree age(mature stand) in Illicium verum forest,Pinus massoniana forest and Manglietia glauca forest,the waterholding capacity of canopy,vegetation layer under canopy and litter layer,the waterholding capacity of soil were further studied.The paper aimed to make a comparison to the water conservation function between the Illicium verum forest(economic forest) and the industrial plantation(including broadleaf forest and conifer forest).The result showed the total waterholding above ground and in the order of Manglietia glauca forest(42.245 t/hm2)＞Illicium verum forest(27.150 t/hm2)＞Pinus massoniana forest(16.098 t/hm2).The total waterstoring of soil(0～100 cm) of Illicium verum forest(686.20 t/hm2) was approximate to that of Manglietia glauca forest(722.80 t/hm2) and significantly higher than that of Pinus massoniana forest(546.40 t/hm2).The original permeation value and steady permeation value in 0～20 cm were Illicium verum forest＞Manglietia glauca forest＞Pinus massoniana forest.If the total waterstorage capacity both above ground and soil was regarded as the evaluating index,the largest was in Manglietia glauca forest(765.04 t/hm2),the second in Illicium verum forest(713.35 t/hm2),the least in the Pinus massoniana forest(573.30 t/hm2).Therefore,the Illicium verum forest could achieve economic benefits and also ecological benefits such as soil structure improvement and the water conservation.