Abstract:To investigate the potential effects of heavy metal pollution in soil and water bodies, heavy metal content (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) of 49 soil samples collected from 13soil profiles alongside river were analyzed. Spatial variation of heavy metal content was discussed and the potential ecological risks of polluted soil and water bodies were assessed as well. The results showed that the levels of As, Cd, Cu and Zn content were 26.6~430mg/kg, 1.99~11.9mg/kg, 31.7~765mg/kg and 63.5~646mg/kg in zone I which were significantly higher than that in zone II (4.16~51.3mg/kg, 0.830~4.67mg/kg, 3.99~103mg/kg and 17.6~83.7mg/kg). The spatial variation of heavy metal content was resulted from different pollution sources (mining activities in Dabaoshan Mine, agricultural activities, traffic load and domestic wastes, etc.), the interactions between contaminated river water and groundwater, and the physical-chemical properties of soils (soil organic matter and fine particles component).As, Cu and Cd were identified as major pollutant,with Cd which being the most serious pollutant The index of geo-accumulation (Igeo) for Cd in zone I and II were 6.13 and 4.84, respectively, which exceeded the severe pollution level. The toxic unit (∑TU) of all soil profiles in zone I was higher than 4 which was considered as moderately toxic.