Abstract: The geochemical survey of land quality project launched in 1999 is a new national geochemical mapping project, succeeding the regional geochemistry-national reconnaissance project in China. The project has since made significant contributions in supporting governmental actions in soil pollution prevention and control, land resource management, major agricultural legislation and precision poverty relief—expanding greatly its role of geological service. We provided here a historical review on the projects background, organization, main progress, survey methodology development, analysis and testing technology improvement and quality control scheme. We made a comprehensive summary of the projects achievements in the overview of the geochemical status of national cultivated land, environmental qualities of soils in provincial capital cities and sediments in nations main freshwater lakes, and changes of soil organic carbon pools in the main agricultural areas of China in the past 20 years. We then gave an all-around introduction of the applications of survey data in land management, soil pollution prevention and control, agricultural planting structural adjustment, poverty relief, endemic disease prevention and control, and explorations for oil & gas and metallic minerals. Finally, we offered a prospective view on the future developmental trend of geochemical survey of land quality regarding innovative survey technology, new evaluation methods and integration of survey and research.

Key words: geochemical survey of land quality, geochemical status of national cultivated land, overview of trace metals in urban soils, environmental quality of freshwater lake sediments, change of soil organic carbon pool