Abstract The residue of atrazine in field soils poses a major threat to crop growth in the rotation system, raising concerns about grain security and food safety. Current agricultural production requires more efficient and cost-effective mitigation measures in response to the emerging threat. This study reported the critical concentration (0.1 mg L−1) of atrazine injury to soybean seedlings in soil pore water and how biochar amendment could influence the distribution of atrazine in different soil environments. The results showed that biochar significantly reduced the concentration of atrazine in soil pore water, for example, 0.5% biochar in red (cinnamon, fluvo-aquic, paddy, black) soil reduced atrazine concentration from 0.31 (0.20, 0.18, 0.12, 0.03) mg L−1 to 0.004 (0.002, 0.005, 0.013, 0.011) mg L−1 in pore water (P