[Objective] In this paper, the status and risk of heavy metal pollution in the soil around the tin mining area was determined by 7 heavy metal elements such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, As and Hg of 114 pieces of surface soil and 3 groups of column soil. [Methods] the pollution level, potential ecological risk and human health risk in the area was evaluated via the Geo-accumulation index method, potential ecological risk index method and health risk assessment model. [Results] The average content of soil heavy metals in the study area manifested that As > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd > Hg. In terms of spatial distribution, the Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and As elements concentrated near the mine area and their contents decrease with increasing depth and tend to be stable below 60cm. The Cr element is mainly distributed in congested area. The Hg element is uniformly distributed. The results of the cumulative land show that the As and Cd elements are heavy level polluted, and the Cu, Pb and Zn elements are lightly-heavy level polluted, and the Cr and Hg elements show no-light level pollution in the study area. Potential ecological results show that the study area is at heavy pollution levels, with the most severe ecological risks of As and Cd elements. Health risk assessment shows that the As and Pb elements in soil are the main non-carcinogenic factors and the As element is the main carcinogenic factor. The As element is the main risk of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenicity. The oral ingestion is the main route of exposure, and children are more vulnerable to heavy metal pollution. [Conclusion] To some extent, all seven heavy metals in the study area were affected by anthropogenic factors. The As and Cd elements are the most influenced by humans, and the Pb, Zn and Cu followed. The Cr and Hg elements were weakly affected by humans.