Rational planning and utilization of land resources of the Three-Gorges Reservoir Region needs to be based on thorough investigation of the soil environment quality of the region.Field investigation using the multi-targeted geochemical method was carried out,test and mathematical statistics conducted of soil samples collected systematically from the surface layer over a large area,and standard comparison and Geoaccumulation index methods applied,to evaluate seriousness of heavy-metal contamination and environment quality of the soil in the Three-Gorges Reservoir Region.Results show that as a whole the region is quite good in soil environment quality,except for Wushan and Fengjie districts,where high Cr and Ni background values have led to existence of a certain area of Grade Ⅱ soils.Over 90% of the soils are in Grade Ⅰ in terms of As,Cu,Hg,Pb and Zn.Artificial pollution is local and limited in area.For instance,spots of Hg pollution are found only in the vicinity of residential settlements,factories and minings.In the case of Cd,the area of Grade Ⅱ soils is quite large,and they are mainly distributed along Wanzhou and Fuling.However,whether the extensive distribution of Cd Grade Ⅱ soils resulted from high natural background or human activities needs further study.The problem should deserve more attention.