[Objective] To explore the characteristics of preferential flow development and its effects on solute transport under different rainfall conditions in typical farmland in Hainan. [Methods] In the study, the typical latosol of Hainan Province was taken as the research object. Field staining tracer, Br-simulated solute transport and image analysis techniques were used to examine the preferential flow development and features of ion distribution within vertical profile of soils under various rainfall circumstances, and the correlation between the characteristic indexes of preferential flow and the proportion of subsurface flow types and ion concentration in the preferential flow areas and soil matrix areas were analyzed. [Results] (1) Under rainfall intensities of 30mm and 60mm, the total dyed areas were 506.85cm2 and 857.86cm2, the maximum dyed depths were 16.80cm and 31.08cm, and the comprehensive evaluation indexes of preferential flow was 0.25 and 0.55. The results indicated that increased rainfall promotes preferential flow development. (2) Under 30mm rainfall, the ion concentration in the preferential flow paths of the 5~10 and 10~15cm soil layers significantly increased by 22.14% to 63.91% compared with the soil matrix paths. While under 60mm rainfall, the ion concentrations in the preferential flow paths of 10~15 and 15~20cm soil layers increased by 54.98% to 63.54%. therefore, the preferential flow prominently promoted the solute transport. (3) There was a significant positive correlation between macropore flow and solute concentration variation coefficient. The higher the proportion of macropore flow in soil, the greater the difference in solute concentration in soil layer. [Conclusion] There is an obvious preferential flow phenomenon in typical farmland in Hainan, and its comprehensive evaluation index increases with rainfall intensity. The higher the proportion of macropore flow, the greater the difference in solute concentration. Preferential flow paths significantly facilitates solute transport.