Taking the soil of Xianfeng County in Western Hubei as the research object, this study counted the geochemical background values of 30 element indexes in the surface soil in the area. Moreover, factor analysis was conducted to analyze the genetic mechanism of geochemical background values and to evaluate the spatial distribution and influencing factors of soil elements in Xianfeng County. The results showed that the contents of B, Cd, Cr, F, Hg and Se were significantly higher than the national and Hubei background values, the contents of I, Mo, Sr, CaO and Na₂O were lower than the national levels. Factor analysis showed that soil parent materials, industrial and mining activities, humus process, weathering, terrain factors and human activities jointly affected the background values of surface soils in the study area. Soil parent material determined the distribution characteristics of chemical elements in soils, and the terrain factors and human activities like mining reshaped the regional distribution patterns of elements.