The environmental restoration and ecological treatment of abandoned mining areas are of great significance for the construction of ecological civilization. In view of the heavy metal pollution in soil caused by mining, it is particularly important to carry out the investigation of heavy metal pollution characteristics and health risk assessment for the design and construction of mining treatment schemes. The pollution characteristics of soil heavy metals(As, Cd, Cu, Mn and Ni)of Dafanshan abandoned alum mining area in Lujiang county of Anhui province were analyzed, and the pollution assessment and human health risk assessment were established by combining the site accumulation index method, potential ecological risk index method and health risk assessment model(USEPA).The results show that the contents of As and Cd in the soil of the abandoned alum mining area significantly exceed the standard, and compared with the risk screening value of agricultural land, the exceeding rates are 77% and 100%, respectively; Cu in soil is slightly polluted, and the exceeding rate is 16%; the contents of Mn and Ni do not exceed the standard; in addition, the above five heavy metal elements in the descending order of the coefficients of variation are Ni, Mn, Cu, Cd and As; the study area has strong potential ecological risk, and the potential ecological risk index shows that As and Cd are the main risk elements, and the soil is mainly in quite-strong and very-strong potential ecological risks. The health risk assessment model shows that the indirect oral intake of excessive heavy metals in soil is the main route of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks; As and Cd are within the acceptable ranges of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks for adults and children through oral ingestion, and there is no carcinogenic risk for adults and children through respiratory ingestion and skin contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]