In order to investigate the concentrations and potential ecological risks of heavy metals in soils,the total concentrations of Cd,As,Pb,Cr,Cu,Zn and Ni in the topsoil of paddy fields near a Pb-Zn ore deposit located in Hunan Province were analyzed with field sampling and laboratory analyses.The results showed that the soil was seriously polluted by heavy metals.The value of PLI was 2.6 calculated by 25 sampling points,indicating that the extent of contaminated soil is heavy.The potential ecological risk of soil calculated by risk index (RI) revealed that there is a considerable-high ecological risk in study area.The average concentration of heavy metals was in the order of Cd >Pb>As>Cu>Ni>Zn>Cr.Results of correlation analysis and principal component analysis showed that the soil of the studied area was mainly polluted by Cd,Pb,As,Zn.It may be due to the mining activities.