Two cores were selected in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacency,one within the region of seasonal hypoxia and the other nearby but outside the hypoxia region.The major elements,trace elements and rare earth elements(REEs)were determined on the 210Pb-dated sediment cores.The distributions of most elements in the core sediment outside the hypoxia region were controlled by “grain size effects”.In the core sediment within the hypoxia region,some redox sensitive elements(RSEs)just like the Mo,Cd,As et al.have been enriched significantly,which concentrations increased about 83%,73%and 50%respectively since the late 1960s to 1970s.Conversely the Mn has been depleted since 1970s.The results indicate the redox environment of the bottom water-sediment interface has been changed which might be caused by the eutrophication and hypoxia in the Changjiang Estuary.The concentrations of biogenic elements as well as Ca,Sr,P have also increased about 129%,65%and 38%respectively since the late 1960s,which reflected the increasing of productivity and biomass influenced by the anthropogenic activities during the last forty years.The results showed that the contents of biogenic elements as well as Ca,Sr,P and some RSEs just like Mo,Cd,As,Mn in sediment could be used to trace or reconstruct history of the coastal eutrophication and hypoxia in the high productivity zone in the Changjiang Estuary over the last 100 years.REEs were correlated negatively with Ti,Al,Fe and no obvious relation with grain size.The decreasing trend of δCe distribution over the last 100 years may be related to the progressive hypoxia and high productivity in the Changjiang Estuary.These geochemical parameters gave the same conclusions consistently: effected by the anthropogenic activity,the Changjiang estuary hypoxia began in 1970s and showed the increasing trend.