Abstract: Contents and spatial distribution of heavy metals in the soils of the zinc mining area in northwestern Guizhou Province were investigated and characterized and pollution degrees and risks of the heavy metals were analyzed and assessed with the Tessier sequential extraction method and risk assessment code (RAC), respectively. Results show that the average contents of all the studied heavy metals, except Cr and Ni, were higher than their respective background values of Guizhou Province. The soils were seriously contaminated with Pb, Zn and Cd in samples. Fractionation of the pollutants shows that in the soils and slag, Pb, Zn and Mn existed mainly in the form of residue (accounting for 45.91%, 55.11% and 42.71% of their respective total), and in ferromanganese bound form (33.33%, 28.26% and 41.78%), Cd in exchangeable form and carbonate bound form, together making up 30.63%; Cu in organo-bound form (65.11%) and then in the form of residue (30.79%); and Cr and As in the form of residue (both exceeding 90%). RAC shows that Cd in the soil poses a very high potential ecological risk, while the others have relatively low ones.