Soil’s water-holding and conducting properties are crucial for studying soil-water relations. This research explores how soil pore structure affects water-holding capacity and hydraulic conductivity in alpine meadow soils of the central Tibetan Plateau. The study critiques the Campbell formula for inaccurately predicting these factors, citing a lack of consideration for specific soil properties and contexts. Incorporating soil pore curvature, a revised method enhances the accuracy of the Campbell formula. During the growing season, independent pores in alpine meadow soils often interconnect, featuring large surface areas but small volumes. These soils, with higher clay content than loamy and sandy soils, demonstrate a high water-holding capacity. However, in the growing season, this capacity diminishes, and hydraulic conductivity rises due to reduced pore curvature in these cold alpine meadows.