The potential of soils to provide minerals for human nutrition needs to be explored in areas where the cereals are the major staple food. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of soil properties on micronutrients contents in maize, sorghum and millet grown in semi-arid areas of Dodoma Tanzania.  Three soil units, the red soil, course-textured, and black-mbuga soil of Dodoma were characterized as per FAO-World Resource Base procedure. Sixty-nine soil and cereal samples were collected from the farmers’ fields from Bwawani, Ipala and Zepisa villages of Dodoma, analyzed for nutrient contents, and subjected to simple correlation analysis. The soils were characterized as Haplic Cutanic Acrisols for the red soil; Haplic Cambisols for the course-textured soil; and Calcic Mazic Vertisols for black mbuga soil. Soils pH ranged from 6.67 to 7.75, 7.22 to 7.86, and 7.05 to 7.69 and organic carbon (OC) range of 0.98 to 1.01%, 0.77 to 1.13% and 0.96 to 1.20% in maize, sorghum and pearl millet growing soils, respectively. All soils had very low soil P (< 2.0 mg/kg), and mean soil Zn level was 0.9, 0.79 and 1.01 mg/kg in maize, sorghum and pearl millet growing soils, respectively. Soil Cu, Fe, and Mn were sufficient levels in all soils.  No significant correlation between soil Zn and grain Zn content all sites and all cereal crops studied. Among cereals Pearl millet had highest Zn content of 22.1 to 53.7, sorghum had 9.6 to 49.6 and maize had 2.1 to 24.6 mg Zn/kg. Copper in pearl millet grains was significantly positively correlated with soil Cu (r=0.545 p=0.0059), but not in maize and sorghum. Manganese in sorghum grains was positive correlated r=0.599 (p=0.0149), but was not significant in maize and pearl millet. Therefore, micronutrients absorption from unfertilized native soils is more complex and needs to be explored further.