Abstract: The major elements of surface sediments in the northern Bohai Strait, according to the analyzing results of the samples collected from 35 stations, mainly consist of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, CaO, K₂O, Na₂O and MgO, which account for more than 94.85% of the total. SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and CaO dominate on average of 70.44%, 10.03% and 3.96%, respectively, suggesting the sediments of siliceous clasts and clays predominated by aluminosilicate minerals. SiO₂ is strongly negatively correlated with Mz, and their spatial distribution is consistent with coarse-grained sediments. Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, MgO, P₂O₅ and TiO₂ are similar in spatial distribution and consistent with that of fine-grained sediments. Moreover, there are obvious positive correlations among Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, MgO, Na₂O and TiO₂, indicating that their distribution is controlled by similar factors mentioned above. The correlation of major elements and R-factor analysis show that the major elements in the study area can be divided into three categories. The first category includes SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, MgO, MnO, P₂O₅, and TiO₂, representing terrigenous clastic deposits; the second category mainly consists of CaO and NaO, representing marine biogenous sediments; and the third category of K₂O may suggest the impact of marine authigenic sediment.