Changbaishan Mountains are one of regions where peatlands are distributed A typical profile of Daqiao peatland in the Changbaishan Mountains is chosen for this study The vertical distribution of major and selected trace elements in the sediments of the profile was determined Its implications for the climatic change in the Holocene are discussed The profile was compared with another standard profile named Jinchuan in this area The results show that most major elements are rich at the depth of 195cm, and decrease upwards and downwards from there The concentration profile of Fe correlates well with that of ash content andbulk density, and this indicates Fe is mainly associated with ash forming minerals The basic characters, such asbulk density, ash content and pH,are different between peat and sandstone；thecontent of trace elements in the peat is higher than that in the sandstone, and is the highest in the subsurface layer of peat The concentration profilesof bulk density, ash content, pH, Ca/Mg, total carbon content and enrichment factors relative to upper continental crust are distinctly consistent The area has gone through the Early Holocene(11880～7600 BP),the Middle Holocene(7600～2 480aBP)andthe Late Holocene(2480～0aBP) according to these indices These results gained from the Daqiao peatland are similar to those obtained by pollen and isotope analyses in the Jinchuan peatland It implies that these indices can be used as indicators of environmental change during the Holocene