A factorial kriging analysis was conducted on seven heavy metal elements, Cd, Ni,Cu,Zn,Pb,Cr,As, of 388 surface samples collected from western Pearl River Estuary to study the spatial structure characteristics of the heavy metal elements, identify and separate spatial principal components at different spatial scales, and discuss the provenance of heavy metal elements and the influencing factors.The results show that the heavy metals exist spatially in three scales: nugget scale, spherical structure with a range of 60 km (local scale), and spherical structure with a range of 160 km (regional scale).According to the distribution of the regional factor(F1 and F2) score, high-value areas of F1(Zn,Cr,Ni,Cu)and F2(As)at local scale reflect "bull-eye like" distribution in estuary and harbor of coastal land. This suggests the potential anthropogenic pollution area of Zn,Cr,Ni,Cu and As. The eastern coast of Leizhou Peninsula is most likely the area of heavy metal pollution. The spatial distribution of the heavy metal elements at local scale is dominated by the local terrain or current; and their different spatial distribution between As and Zn,Cr,Ni,Cu is due to their different element geochemical behavior. The regional factors F1(Zn, Cr, Ni)and F2(As)at regional scale indicate the influence of terrigenous parent rock,in which Zn,Cr,Ni are derived primarily from the parent rock from the mainland of South China;while As is derived primarily from the parent rock of Hainan Island.The high-value areas of F1 and F2 at regional scale show "slice-like" distribution extending from coast towards deeper sea overall in NNE direction; which is due to sea-level changes and the regional ocean circulation in NNE direction.