Modifications to vegetation and soil due to changes in land use have the potential to alter the soil microbiome, with consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling. Despite the important function of soil microorganisms, little is known about their response to land-use change, especially in tropical regions where current rates of land conversion are greatest. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine how land-use change influences soil microbial properties in tropical ecosystems and to identify current trends and knowledge gaps in the literature. We identified 83 published paired studies that reported data on microbial biomass, abundance, composition, and enzyme activity under representative land-use changes in the tropics. We calculated response ratios for studies that compared the following: reference forests to (a) agriculture, (b) pastures, (c) plantations, and (d) secondary forests. Here you will find all the raw and clean data used for the meta-analysis.