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Introduction. The aim of the present study was to determine, for the first time, the small cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccus) chemical composition depending on depending on growing soil. Materials and methods. The analyses were made on ripe fruits of the plant, harvested from Romania, Suceava county, Coșna commune, in a peat area. The mineral content was determined using a coupledmass spectrometer (ICP - MS). DPPH method was used for antioxidant activity determination. Folin Ciocalteu method and HPLC analysis were used for polyphenol content determination. Results and discussion. A value of 84.1% was obtained for fruits' moisture content, close to the values found in other studies. For ash, a relatively low value of 1.38% was obtained that shows a low mineral content, corresponding to the low mineral content of the soil. However, the mineral content of the analyzed fruits is higher than that reported by other studies. For most of the elements there was a positive correlation between mineral content in fruits and soil. A significant amount of calcium was observed in the studied cranberries, close to the average means reported in other studies. Magnesium falls within the limits determined in other studies, and the copper content as well. The contents of manganese, iron and zinc were lower than in other studies. The contents of arsenic, mercury and stibium were below the maximum approved limits and led is under the detection limit. Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the inhibiting percent of free radicals and total content of polyphenols is higher in aqueous extract than in the ethanolic extract and medium content in the studied fruits, in comparison with other reported data: 340.78 mg/100g in aqueous extract and 254.20 mg/100g in ethanolic extract. According to the results obtained by different authors, the total amount of polyphenols is significantly higher in the wild fruits of Vaccinium oxycoccus, as compared to grown cultivars. Regarding to polyphenols, a high content of quercetin, 0.39 mg/100g, and myricetin, 0.23 mg/100g, is noteworthy. In the ethanolic extracts, chlorogenic acid, 0.42 mg/100 g, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, 0.41 mg/100 g, appear, close to numbers reported in other studies. However, the presence of rosmarinic acid, 0.12 mg/100g, was observed, which has not been reported previously. In the benzene extract, p-coumaric acid appears, 0.27 mg/100 g. Vitamin C present in the peatland small cranberries, 5.98 mg/100g, contributes to its antioxidant activity. Conclusions. According to results of the present study, the chemical composition of peatland small cranberries from Romania was close to those obtained in studies on cranberries from other geographic regions, and may be considered as fruit with high antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]