A total of 420 farmland soil samples were collected, 96 from Suzhou area and 324 from Jiaxing area, for analysis of composition of PAHs and concentrations of the 15 types of PAHs under priority control with the aid of HPLC and for exploration of sources of the PAHs in the soil, using the ratioing technology and PCA. Results show that the total content of PAHs varied in the range from 45.4 μg kg^-1 to 3 703 μg kg^-1 and from 9.00 μg kg^-1 to 2 421 μg kg^-1 in Suzhou and Jiaxing, respectively. The mean concentration of B\[a\]P in the soils of Suzhou reached 21.4 μg kg^-1, far beyond the maximum allowable value of 20.0 μg kg^-1 set by the Former USSR. The content of PAHs in Suzhou displayed an increasing trend from south (Wujiang County) to north (Xiangcheng County), and much higher than in Jiaxing. And the content of PAHs in soils of Wujiang County and Jiashan County of Shanghai was rather higher. Phe, FluA, BbF, IP, and Pyr were the dominant PAHs in Suzhou, while Phe, FluA, Pyr, Chry, and BbF were in Jiaxing. The sources of the PAHs in the soils of the two regions were quite similar, mainly biomass, coal combustion and petroleum.