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This study examined the contamination of the surface water in the Shandi River basin in Yangquan, Shanxi province. A total of 11 sampling points (numbered S1-S2, S3-S4, S5–S11) were selected from the upstream to the downstream of the river, and 19 indexes were selected for inspection to identify the causes and features of contaminated water in the basin. The Nemerow Pollution Index was applied to evaluate the quality of the surface water and the overall extent of contamination in the basin. The result revealed that the content of Cl-, As, Cr6+, CN-, and volatile phenols met the grade III water quality standards in China, and the remaining indexes exceeded the standards by varying degrees. The five sources of contamination in the basin negatively affect the environment. The presence of contaminants at the sampling points was in the following order, from highest to lowest: SO42-= Mn = NH3-N> Fe2+= Hg >Fe3+> Cd > Zn = F->COD>NO3 -= NO2-. The severity of the comprehensive contamination indexes decreased in the order of S6 > S9 > S7 > S11 > S10 > S3 > S8 > S5 >S4.