700 sediment samples were collected from Lake Dongting during 2003-2004, and concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn in the sediments were measuremed. The results showed that the average concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn did not exceed the standards of Class II of environmental quality standard for soils in China; the average concentrations of As, Hg and Ni were between the standards of Class I and the standards of Class II of the standard. The heavy metals in east Lake Dongting and south Lake Dongting were mostly accumulated in the front of the delta where rivers ran into the lake, however the heavy metals in west Lake Dongting were mostly accumulated in the rear part of the delta. Results with integrative index of geoaccumulation showed that the decreasing order of the degree of heavy metal pollution in Lake Dongting was as follows: south Lake Dongting > east Lake Dongting > west Lake Dongting > Lake Datong > Chenglingji . Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to study the heavy metals in the sediments from Lake Dongting. Results showed that the first principal component (PC1) in south Lake Dongting accounts for 55.22% of total data variance, and the second principal (PC2) accounts for 30.04%. As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and Zn have greater loadings in the PC1, and Cu, Cr and Ni have greater loadings in PC2, in south Lake Dongting and east Lake Dongting. For the west Lake Dongting, Lake Datong and Chenglingji, due to the fact that they have different sources of heavy metals, the principal component analyses have shown different results.