Conducted between 2005-2013, it found that 16.1% of China's soil and 19.4% of its arable land showed contamination.
The report, by the Environmental Protection Ministry, named cadmium, nickel and arsenic as top pollutants.
There is growing concern, both from the government and the public, that China's rapid industrialisation is causing irreparable damage to its environment.
The study took samples across an area of 6.3 million square kilometres, two-thirds of China's land area.
"The survey showed that it is hard to be optimistic about the state of soil nationwide," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
"Due to long periods of extensive industrial development and high pollutant emissions, some regions have suffered deteriorating land quality and serious soil pollution."