In this study, 10 frequently used pesticides in apple orchards from the major apple production area of China were identified through 150 questionnaires. Based on Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry, a method for detecting these pesticides in soils was developed. Typically, these compounds can be extracted from dry soil samples using dichloromethane: acetone (2:1, v:v) and purified by dispersive solid-phase extraction (PSA and C18). The qualitative and quantitative analyses can be undertaken by monitoring the MS1 precursor ions under full scan mode within a mass error of <5 ppm (resolution 120000). The recoveries ranged from 68.4% to 102.4% (SD<10.5%), the matrix effects induced signal fluctuation was less than 10%, and the intra- and inter-day precisions were all below 5%. For 14 surface soil samples randomly collected from an apple orchard in China, most pesticides presented the highest detection frequencies (100%), with imidacloprid and tebuconazole showing the highest residue levels (4.1-39.1 and 9.8-350.2 ng/g dry weight, respectively). Compared with previous methods for analyzing individual or several pesticides, the proposed method represents a promising means of investigating these frequently used pesticide residues in apple orchards in China.