Chinese herbal medicines produced in different areas are different remarkably in their effective chemical composition, which is attributed to different climates, soil types and geologicalgeochemical environments of their producing areas. Based on geochemical mapping of stream sediments in whole China, the authors studied content characteristics of 39 kinds of elements or oxides in more than 30 important producing areas of genuine Chinese herbal medicines. The results show that soils in different producing areas of Chinese herbal medicines are different very obviously in chemical composition, and the pharmacological nature is closely related to the geochemical background of the producing area: the nearer the producing areas, the closer their geological and geochemical characteristics, and the more similar their medicine properties. The achievements of this study are of considerable guiding significance in the appraisal of Chinese medicine producing areas, the choice of planting bases, the safety evaluation of heavy metals and the modernization of the traditional Chinese medicine.