Abstract: With the rapid urbanization in recent years, contamination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has become one of the major factors threatening soil environmental quality and human health. The authors collected 15 topsoil samples (at the depth of 0~20 cm) in the improving areas in the Tongzhou District of Beijing and investigated the contents and component characteristics of 16 PAHs optimally controlled by USEPA in earth based on the GC-MS analysis techniques. On the basis of the spatial distribution characteristics of PAHs and the concentration ratios among certain components by means of multivariate analysis, the pollution sources and levels are analyzed and preliminarily appraised, and the health risk assessment was carried out. The results indicate that the contents of 16 PAHs in surface soil range from 6.57 to 8 307.2 μg/kg with an average of 1 004.08 μg/kg. The composition characteristics of PAHs and the ratios of Fla/(Fla+Pyr) and BaA/(BaA+Chr) show that the sources of PAHs are combustion of coal and automobile exhaust, with two kinds of main components of petroleum hydrocarbon and fossil fuel combustion with the multivariate analysis. Finally, a health risk appraisal of the PAHs in soil was made with the reference to the Technical Guidelines for Risk Assessment of Contaminated Sites (HJ 25.3-2014), indicating that the cancer and non-carcinogenic risk values are both acceptable except the Benzoapyrene (BaP) cancer risk value is slightly on the high side.