Concentrations of total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in soil,vegetables,and human hair were measured in a mercury mining area in central China.T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in soil ranged from 1.53 to 1054.97 mg/kg and 0.88 to 46.52 μg/kg,respectively.T-Hg concentrations was correlated with total organic carbon (TOC) content (R2 =0.50,p＜0.01) and pH values (R2 =0.21,p＜0.05).A significant linear relationship was observed between MeHg concentrations and the abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) (R2 =0.39,p＜0.05) in soil.Soil incubation experiments amended with specific microbial stimulants and inhibitors showed that Hg methylation was derived from SRB activity.T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in vegetables were 24.79-781.02 μg/kg and 0.01-0.18 μg/kg,respectively;levels in the edible parts were significantly higher than in the roots (T-Hg:p＜0.05;MeHg:p＜0.01).Hg species concentrations in rhizosphere soil were positively correlated to those in vegetables (p＜0.01),indicating that soil was an important source of Hg in vegetables.Risk assessment indicated that the consumption of vegetables could result in higher probable daily intake (PDI) of T-Hg than the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) for both adults and children.In contrast,the PDI of MeHg was lower than the reference dose.T-Hg and MeHg concentrations in hair samples ranged from 1.57 to 12.61 mg/kg and 0.04 to 0.94 mg/kg,respectively,and MeHg concentration in hair positively related to PDI of MeHg via vegetable consumption (R2 =0.39,p＜0.05),suggesting that vegetable may pose health risk to local residents.