To determine provenance of sand-dust fallouts in Harbin area,Heilongjiang Province,the sand-dust fallouts in Harbin and two different grain size fractions(<11μm and 11-30μm)of samples from the potential source areas,including Horqin sandy land and Songneng sandy land,are studied for rare earth element(REE)compositions.The results indicate that ΣREE for sand-dust fallouts in 2002ranges from 179.07×10-6 to 200.92×10-6 with an average value of 189.67×10-6,ΣREE varied ranges from 166.70×10-6 to 184.44×10-6 with an average value of 175.57×10-6 for sand-dust fallouts in 2007,from 166.91×10-6 to 182.45×10-6 with an average value of 174.68×10-6 in 2008,ΣREE in 2011is 181.35×10-6.The REE distribution for all sand-dust fallouts focuses on very narrow scopes,which displays provenance for sand-dust fallouts in Harbin is very stable.The dust falls show very similar REE distribution patterns and characteristic parameters with distinct negative Eu anomalies(δEu value for dust falls in 2002,2007,2008varied from 0.71to 0.75,δEu value in 2011was 0.92)and slightly negative Ce anomalies(δCe value was in the range from 0.89to 0.92with an average of 0.90).The relatively large amount of evidence,such as REE values and distribution patterns and characteristic parameters andδEu vs.ΣREEs diagram andδEu vs.(LREE/HREE)diagram and(LREE/HREE)vs.LaN diagram,indicate that REE compositions for dust falls in Harbin are quite similar to those of Horqin sandy land(specially 11-30μm grain size fractions),showing sand-dust in Harbin stems from Horqin sandy land but not Songneng sandy land,and showing material contribution of Horqin sandy land to dust falls in Harbin is mainly 11-30μm grain-size fractions.It is confirmed that dust falls in Harbin are from Horqin sandy land by relevant meteorological records and meteorological data.