This investigation was made to estimate current normal concentrations of total mercury in the hair of Chinese coastal people. Hairsamples were collected from 659 healthy inhabitants in the areas along the coast and the rivers (such as Shanghai, Ningbo, Dalian,Xiamen, and Zhoushan) of China from Feb. 2005 to June 2006. Total mercury concentrations in the samples were analyzed by the coldvapor atomic adsorption spectrometry method (CVAAS). The results showed the geometric mean concentration of total mercury in thehair of the total population (N=659) was 0.83 μg/g, and the geometric mean of the concentrations of total mercury in the hair of themale (0.94 μg/g, 338 inhabitants with an average age of 35.2, age 2-93) was higher than that of the female (0.72 μg/g, 321 inhabitantswith an average age of 39.1, age 1-90). In both the male and female, the mean concentrations of total mercury in hair increased withage, and then gradually decreased. There was a significant correlation between the total hair mercury and the place of residence (p