Abstract:A retrospective investigation on the background values of some inorganic elements including As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, F, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, V and Zn in soils of Guangdong Province, China was conducted to study their trend in the past several decades. In comparison with the results obtained from The Seventh Five-year Plan of China, background concentrations of all elements were increased, especially for Se, V, Zn and Co, with the exception of Hg and F in A horizon and F in C horizon which were decreased. In addition, with the increase of sampling depth (from A to C horizon), background concentrations of As, Co, Cr, F, Hg, Mn, Ni, V and Zn were increased, but the reverse trend was observed for Cd, Pb, and Cu. No change of Se concentration in background samples of Guangdong was observed. The reason for changes of background concentration of any elements that happened was analyzed.