Abstract: An analytical method established based on inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy(ICP-AES)was developed to analyze and evaluate the inorganic elements in Zingiberis Rhizoma from Shandong,Yunnan,Sichuan and Guizhou. The samples were digested by the wet method,and the content of 32 inorganic elements in 28 batches of samples was detected. The data of inorganic element content were imported into SIMCA-P 14.0 software for cluster analysis and principal component analysis,and the heavy metal elements in peeled and unskinned samples were compared. The results showed that all these samples were rich in K(22587.83~92248.51 mg/kg),P(1778.29~4449.33 mg/kg),Mg(1848.98~4293.83 mg/kg),Na(39.72~1216.93 mg/kg),the content of trace elements Mn(79.16~3864.6 mg/kg),Fe(27.84~960.26 mg/kg),and Zn(14.3~55.45 mg/kg)was high too. The contents of heavy metals Pb(0.21~1.93 mg/kg),As(<1.01 mg/kg)and Cu(2.40~7.96 mg/kg)were relatively low,and the contents of Cd(0.02~0.50 mg/kg)and Hg(<6.19 mg/kg)were relatively high. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis found that the samples produced from Sichuan,Yunnan and Guizhou were similar in the composition of inorganic elements,which were quite different from the samples from Shandong. After the peeling treatment of Zingiberis Rhizoma,the contents of heavy metal elements were significantly reduced. The content of each element could be lower than the limited standard,and this treatment could increase the qualification rate of Zingiberis Rhizoma. The differences in the composition of inorganic elements in Zingiberis Rhizoma from different regions were analyzed in this study. After the peeling treatment,the content of heavy metal elements was significantly reduced and was lower than the limited standard,and the safety was improved. This provided a scientific basis for the reasonable processing method in the original regions of Zingiberis Rhizoma.