This experiment was conducted to study the molecular weight distribution and the in vitro antioxidant properties of wheat germ peptides and soybean protein hydrolysate. In this single-factor experimental design, taking vitamin C as the control, the scavenging rates of wheat germ peptide and soybean protein hydrolysate on DPPH free radicals, ·OH free radicals and ABTS free radicals were measured at different concentrations (0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 mg/mL) by salicylic acid method, DPPH method and ABTS method, and calculate the total reduction force by measuring the absorbance value of T-AOC. The results showed that the average molecular weight of wheat germ peptide and soybean protein hydrolysate was 513 u and 551 u determined by HPLC, and the percentage of oligopeptide with molecular weight less than 1 000 u was 90.22% and 86.93%, respectively. The in vitro antioxidant properties of wheat germ peptide and soybean enzyme digested protein increased linearly with the increase of their concentrations in a certain concentration range (P<0.05), which showed a positive correlation. At a concentration of 10 mg/mL, the scavenging rate of wheat germ peptide on DPPH radicals, hydroxyl radicals and ABTS radicals were 90.39%, 70.66%, 96.24% and 2.23; the scavenging rate and total reducing power of DPPH radicals, hydroxyl radicals and ABTS radicals reached 65.55%, 68.21%, 75.14% and 0.51, respectively, for soybean enzymatic protein at 10 mg/mL. In conclusion, under the conditions of this experiment, both wheat germ peptide and soybean enzymatic protein at different concentrations have antioxidant capacity, and the antioxidant capacity of wheat germ peptide was higher than that of soybean enzymatic protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]