Abstract: In order to understand the spatial distribution and influencing factors of total selenium in cultivated land of Lichuan city, Hubei province, the total selenium content of 668 cultivated land samples were determined. The results showed that the measured values of total selenium in cultivated land presented lognormal distribution. The content of total selenium ranged from 0.011 mg/kg to 6.121 mg/kg, and the arithmetic mean and geometric mean were 0.465 and 0.349 mg/kg. In the land area of Lichuan city, the total selenium adequacy rate was 92.0% （more than 0.175 mg/kg）. The findings showed that Lichuan was a selenium rich area in China and an important part of the “selenium capital” of Enshi. There were significant differences in total selenium content among different soil parent materials, soil types, land use patterns or altitudes. In most of the factors studied, total selenium content was positively correlated with soil organic matter content and altitude, but not with pH. The content of selenium and organic matter in the soil of each factor （except the utilization mode） changed synchronously. Due to the influence of parent materials, soil type, land use patterns or altitude and other factors, there were differences in the content of soil organic matter, which might lead to changes of total selenium content distribution in cultivated soil of Lichuan city.

Key words: cultivated land, total selenium distribution, influencing factors, Lichuan city, Hubei province