Studies with 42 soils selected to obtain a wide range in properties showed that air‐dry and moist soils have substantial capacities for sorption of H2S from air (averages, 9.8 and 12.5 g S kg‐1soil, respectively). Soil properties influencing the capacities of air‐dry soils for sorption of H2S included sand and clay contents, DCB‐soluble Mn, exchangeable Na, DCB‐soluble Fe, and total DCB‐soluble metals. The corresponding capacities of moist soils were influenced by sand and clay contents, DCB‐soluble Mn, and surface area. It was possible to closely predict the H2S sorption capacities of both air‐dry and moist soils (R2= 0.804 and 0.918, respectively) from consideration of their properties.