Abstract: A systematic comparative analysis of rare earth elements (REEs) in 33 sediment samples from Zhanjiang Bay was conducted to reveal their distribution characteristics, influencing factors, primary material sources, and transport mechanisms. Results show that the average size of the sediment particles is 21.21 μm. Most of them are made up of silt and sandy silt. The total REE content (ΣREE) ranges from 114.06 to 286.83 μg/g, with an average of 208.83 μg/g. The sediments are characterized by light REEs (LREE) enrichment, and flat heavy REEs (HREE) pattern, a pronounced negative Eu anomaly, and an absence of significant cerium (Ce) anomaly. Correlation analysis between ΣREE with grain size, the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), and major mineral elements revealed that the REE distribution in this study area is closely related to the sediment grain size, CIA and the provenance. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns of Zhanjiang Bay sediments are similar to those of coastal granites in Guangdong and the upper continental crust of China, which demonstrate a strong terrigenous influence. Provenance discrimination by means of the δEu-(La/Yb)_N and (Gd/Yb)_N-(La/Yb)_N diagrams which calculated from chondrite-normalized values, suggest that the sediments of Zhanjiang Bay are mainly derived from a mixture of granite or granitic continental crust, the surrounding basaltic rocks of Zhanjiang Bay, and the Quaternary sediments. Our preliminary finding also indicates that the relative contributions to REE enrichment in the sediments of Zhanjiang Bay are likely gradually changing.