In the context of climate warming, the intensity and frequency of drought occurrences are progressively increasing. However, current research on the impacts of drought on the life history traits and physiological activities of animals rarely encompass soil animals that play crucial roles within soil ecosystems. Therefore, this study focused on a soil nematode species (Acrobeloides sp.) and a model nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) to investigate whether nematodes adjust the trade-off of their life history traits to confront arid environments, utilizing a Petri dish experiment. Subsequently, we assessed the resilience of the two nematode species to moisture variations by comparing the extent of changes in various indicators (i.e., life history traits, physiological trait, and oxidative stress) of nematodes before and after drought and rehydration. The results revealed that both nematode species are capable of adapting to arid environments by altering the trade-off between life-history traits. Specifically, they reduce reproductive investment and bodymass while maintaining lifespan, thus responding to drought conditions. Follow-up rehydration experiments post-drought stress highlighted that soil-dwelling nematode exhibit a superior recovery capacity in response to moisture fluctuations in comparison to the model nematode. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation into life history of drought adaptation within soil-dwelling nematode. Moreover, the findings hold significant implications for the exploration of drought adaptation and its mechanisms in soil-dwelling animals.