Abstract: To assess the influence of heavy metal on the health of Mareca strepera, the tissue samples of Marecastrepera (pectoral, myocardium, kidney, liver, and bone) and environmental constituents(water, soil, algae, fishes, shrimp, and sediments) were collected from the Nanhaizi Wetland in Baotou, Inner Mongolia; the contents of heavy metals(As, Cr, Cd, and Hg) in the samples were measured using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer(ICP-OES). The distribution of heavy metal content in the tissue samples were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, and the correlation of heavy metal content between the M. strepera tissues and that in environmental constituents was determined using the Pearson correlation test. The results reveal that(1) the distribution of heavy metal elements was as follows:As was primarily accumulated in the myocardium and kidney, Cr in the pectoral, and Cd in the kidney. There was no significant difference in the distribution of Hg among the M. strepera tissues; (2) the Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the heavy metal content in M. strepera tissue and that in the environmental constituents, with some metals being enriched in M. strepera tissue. This indicated that M. strepera could be used as an indicator to monitor local environmental pollution; (3) heavy metal contents in the tissues of M. strepera exceeded the average levels observed in ducks in other regions, as revealed by comparison with reports from other countries; this may affect health of M. strepera to some extent. Heavy metal contents in environmental constituents exceeded the national water quality standard(GB 3838-2002), in particular, Hg, Cr and Cd contents in water were about 500, 375, and 38 times higher than the national standard class Ⅰ, respectively, indicating severe local pollution. Management department should focus on effective measures to prevent further deterioration of the environment.