The aim of this study was to characterise the edaphic macrofauna in soil cultivated with Cenchrus ciliaris L. under irrigation and fertilised with ruminant manure in a Brazilian semi-arid region. The experimental design was in split plots. The main plot was composed using tanned manure from 3 species of ruminants (goat, cattle and sheep), in addition to the control treatment (without manure). The subplots were composed of 3 production cycles of buffel grass. Collections of edaphic macrofauna were performed every 28 days. A total of 3453 arthropods were collected, distributed in 15 taxonomic groups representing 12 orders, 7 of which belong to the Insecta class; 3 from the Arachnid class; and 2 from the Diplopoda class. Ants (Formicidae) accounted for 86.76% of this abundance and were followed by representatives of the orders Araneae (4.26%), Polydesmida (3.61%) and Scarabaeidae (1.58%). Principal Components 1 and 2 explained 56% of the data variation. Bovine manure attracted a greater abundance of individuals, mainly ants. Goat manure showed the highest abundance (p < 0.0013) of the Scarabaeidae class, while sheep manure showed the highest abundance (p < 0.0110) of the Embioptera. The number of individuals varied between the beginning and end of each cycle.