348 sediment samples were taken from the Pearl River Estuary to analyze their major element contents

and to study geochemical characteristics and geological significance. Results show that the main chemical compositions in surface sediments are SiO

2

and Al

2

O

3

with average contents up to 60.1% and 15.1% respectively. The content of SiO

2

increases from estuary to sea

while the content of Al

2

O

3

decreases. Correlation analysis and factor analysis show that SiO

2

Al

2

O

3

P

2

O

5

K

2

O

TiO

2

MnO

Fe

2

O

3

and CaO are the most important factors in surface sediments

mainly originated from continent and marine calcicolous livings. The elements originated from marine include Na

2

O and MgO

and K

2

O is derived from continent and marine.