Mangrove sediments were sampled form 14 main mangrove reserves of China. Concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr and Cd were analyzed with a PE ICP-MS, and physical and physicochemical factors such as particle size distribution, pH, salinity and Total Organic Matter （TOM） were also determined. In the mangrove sediments of China, the average contents of heavy metals decreased in the order ofZn 〉 Pb 〉 Cu 〉 Cr 〉 Cd. The average contents of heavy metals were： Cu = 22.8 4- 16.46 mg/kg, Pb = 76.1 4- 52.33 mg/kg, Zn = 86.3 4- 42.65 mg/kg, Cr = 18.4 4- 5.83 mg/kg and Cd = 0.21 4- 0.25 mg/kg. Compared with previous studies, levels of heavy metals increased greatly. Contents of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were higher than the Background Values （BV）. However, the contents of Cr was under the BV. The results revealed that levels of heavy metals changes significantly with anthropogenic input, physical and physicochemical factors. Significant correlations were found between concentrations of Cu, Ph and pH, TOM.
Ding Zhenhua Zhuang Min Li liuqiang Liu Jinling Lin Huina Wu Hao
