<p>The area of medium and low yields fields is relatively high in China. Therefore, it is important to explore suitable fertilization strategies to enhance the productivity of such farmland for increasing rice yields and sustaining agricultural development. This study aimed to explore the appropriate improvement strategy by investigating the comprehensive effects of different fertilization strategies on rice yields, microbial metabolic limitation, microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE), and microbial community structure in a typical medium and low yields paddy field.&#xa0;A two-year field experiment was conducted with four treatments: chemical fertilizer (CF), 10 t ha⁻¹yr⁻¹ composted manure (CM), 20 t ha⁻¹ granulated organic amendment (LG), and 40 t ha⁻¹ granulated organic amendment (HG).&#xa0;The results indicated that application of massive granulated organic amendments improved soil fertility and increased rice yields by 7.67% (LG) and 18.2% (HG), compared with CF. Soil microbial metabolism was primarily co-limited by carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in all treatments. Vector analysis suggested that LG and HG treatments effectively alleviated microbial metabolic limitation by increasing available nutrients and pH levels, thereby enhancing CUE and increasing active microbial biomass.&#xa0;This study revealed that application of granulated organic amendments with high amount not only increased rice yields and soil fertility, but also effectively alleviated microbial metabolic limitation and promoted microbial C sequestration. Thus, massive amount of granulated organic amendment incorporation is a viable fertilization strategy for achieving high rice yields in medium and low yields paddy fields in subtropical China.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>