We surveyed the major capsid genes (g23) of T4-type bacteriophages using the primers MZIA1bis and MZIA6 and DNA extracted from seven upland black soils in Northeast China. In total, 99 different g23 clones were obtained. Approximately half of the clones fell into paddy groups, whereas the rest belonged to one of several groups containing only clones from upland black soils or remained ungrouped, suggesting that the T4-type phage communities in the upland black soil were relatively similar to those in paddy field soils but that specific communities exclusively inhabit the upland black soil. UniFrac analysis of all of the g23 clones obtained from various environments indicated that the T4-type phage communities varied among marine, lake, paddy field soil and upland soil environments and that the T4-type phage communities in upland black soils varied by sampling location.