Agricultural soils are one of the major sources of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission. Red soil, one of the typical agricultural soils in sub-tropical China, plays an important role in the global N 2 O flux emissions. To determine its N mineralization potential, a field study was conducted to assess the effect of application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer in a rape field under red soil at the experimental station of Heshengqiao at Xianning, Hubei, China. To estimate N-induced N 2 O flux, we examined N 2 O flux during the growth stages of the rape field including four treatments: fertilizer PK (N0), fertilizer NPK (60 kg N ha −1 ) (N1), fertilizer NPK (120 kg N ha −1 ) (N2), fertilizer NPK (240 kg N ha −1 ) (N3). There were distinct variations in soil N 2 O fluxes (from 0.16 to 0.90 kg N ha −1 ), with higher values being observed during the spring and autumn while low values were observed during winter season. Among different treatments, N fertilization significantly increased the N 2 O fluxes, with highest fluxes from N3 while lowest values being observed from N0 treatment. This suggested increased microbial activity in response to increased N fertilizer application. It was interesting to note that fertilizer-induced emissions decreased as the applied fertilizer amount was increased. During the whole growing season, N 2 O flux did not correlate with soil temperature, but it significantly correlated to other environmental variables; water-filled pore space (WFPS), soil NO 3 − –N and NH 4 + –N contents, which suggests the need for efficient water use and low inorganic nitrogen fertilizer management practices.