Surface sediments(0~5 cm) were sampled from 22 stations in Ulsan Bay, one of the most highly industrialized regions in Korea, in November 2000. The sediment samples were analyzed for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon(PAH) content using a gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer detector(GC/MSD). The total PAH concentrations in the sediments varied from 14 to 7108 ng/g dry weight with a mean value of 1052 ng/g dry weight. The level of carcinogenic PAHs ranged from 6 to 2396 ng/g dry weight with a mean value of 433 ng/g dry weight. The highest PAH concentrations in the sediments from Ulsan Bay were found at Station U8, whereas the lowest levels were observed at Stations U2 and U 17. The PAH distribution exhibited a decreasing gradient from the inner basin to the outer bay. The predominant contributors to the aromatic ring groups of the 16 PAHs were four- and five-ring groups, such as fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzor[b]fluoranthene, benzor[k]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene, while two- and three-ring aromatics, like naphthalene, acenapthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene and anthracene, only exhibited a low concentration. The molecular indices for phenanthrene/anthracene and fluoranthen/pyrene were used to Identify the origin of the PAH contamination in the sediments. The results indicated that the PAH contamination in Ulsan Bay was mostly Pyrolytic in origin with a Petrogenic input adjacent to Ulsan and Jangsuengpo harbor.