Abstract: Contamination characteristics of a set of heavy metals, including Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd and Ni, in the top soils collected from the two types of green space (urban park and roadside) in the central Shanghai were investigated. The results showed that heavy metals except for Cr and Ni were accumulated remarkably in the soils of urban green space, and the heavy metal concentrations were higher in soils of roadside green space than those in soils of urban park green space. The ecological risk assessment of soils heavy metals showed that the Cd pollution was the most serious among the 6 observed metals, and the potential ecological risk index (RI) of heavy metals in the soils of urban parks green space was generally at an intermediate level, while the RI in the soils of roadside green space was at a relatively high level. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that traffic emission and industrial activity were mainly responsible for the accumulation of heavy metals in the soils of urban green space, while heavy metals in the soils of roadside green space were mostly influenced by traffic activities.