The dataset presents information on soil properties and their associated mid-infrared spectra for a drainage basin of 4.2 km2, referred to as Upper Badong catchment (31°1′24′′N, 110°20′35′′E) in the Hubei province, China. Data were collected for topsoil in a highly diverse terrace catchment composed of woodland, cropland and small farm building. Soil properties included in this dataset are pH, texture (i.e. clay, silt and sand content), total carbon, organic carbon and CaCO3. In addition, the soil samples were scanned in the mid-infrared range. The data collection processed involved three field campaigns during 2013 and 2014 where topsoil samples were collected in a standardized way across all sites, and soil analyses in the laboratory of soil science following standard procedures. The dataset offers insights into the spatial variation of soil properties in a highly diverse catchment of central China. Researchers interested in soil research can use this dataset for various purposes, including building digital soil mapping models or soil spectroscopic models, benchmarking of models with other datasets, and research in soil erosion modelling.