The content and distribution of acid-volatile sulfide （AVS） and simultaneously extracted metals （SEM） （Cr Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb） were studied in surface sediments collected from the tidal fiat of Donghai Island, Zhanjiang. The results indicated that for most stations, the AVS concentration was higher in summer with the average of 0.449 μmol/g than that in winter with the average of 1.816 μmol/g. The AVS contents were higher in southern and northern areas and lower in western and eastern areas. The average content of ∑SEM was between 0.56 μmol/g and 4.60 μmol/g in summer and between 0.65μmol/g and 2.21 μmol/g in winter. The concentration change of single metal was Zn〉Cr〉Pb〉Cu〉Cd for most stations. The content percentage in ∑ SEM was below 1% for Cd and over 70% for Zn. SEMZn was the key pattern to control the distribution of T. SEM due to its high concentration percentage. Based on the assessment methods of （∑SEM/AVS） with （∑ SEM-AVS） and thresholds for metal toxicity to benthic organism, most values of （∑ SEM-AVS） in intertidal flats of Donghai Island were between 0 and 5. The most toxicity region was in Tongminghai area located in the west tidal zone of Donghai Island, and the most toxicity metal was zinc in Tongminghai area in summer. The land-based pollution and the environmental parameters such as sunlight, atmosphere temperature and hydrodynamic characteristics were the main affecting factors on the content level and distribution characteristics of AVS and SEM in intertidal sediments of Donghai Island.
