There exist a variety of heavy minerals in coastal surficial sediments of Guangdong province, and nearly 40 sorts have been discovered in this study. Of them, the most important ones include ilmenite, hematite, magnetite, zircon, tourmaline, biotite and hornblende; next come epidote, diopside, tremolite and limonite. The authigenic minerals consist mainly of anhydrite, native copper, pyrite and siderite. These minerals are distributed along various coastal sections in different proportions and with different morphologic characteristics. An integrated study suggests that these heavy minerals are derived from source rocks with similar components, mainly granitoids and part of epimetamorphic and/or altered rocks, Nevertheless, in accordance with the differences in source materials, the heavy minerals might be grouped into terrigenous, near-soarce-authigenic and near-source mineral associations; in addition to the factor of material sources, it is mainly the sedimentary environments that control the contents ofheavy minerals, the types, morphologic characteristics and horizontal distribution of minerals in various coastal sections. The distribution patterns of heavy minerals controlled by different sedimentary environments might be classified into three types: (1) estuary pattern, predominated by river transportation; (2) harbor pattern, influenced chiefly by tidal sorting; and (3) island type, governed primarily by wave erosion. The three sorts of mineral associations as controlled by material sources are exactly consistent with the three distribution patterns of heavy minerals. Such a relationship has been well established for sediments of various coastal sections.