In order to evaluate the characteristics of sediments and pollution by organic matter and metallic elements in intertidal sediments along the southwestern coast of Korea, we measured various geochemical parameters, including the mean grain size (Mz), water content (WC), ignition loss (IL), chemical oxygen demand (COD), acid volatile sulfide (AVS), and metallic elements (Al, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Mn, Hg, As), in intertidal surface sediments. The Mz of the surface sediments ranged from 2.1 to 8.3$phi$, indicating that the surface sediments consist of various sedimentary facies, such as sand, slightly gravelly mud, sandy mud, and silt. The IL and COD in surface sediment ranged from 0.8 to 5.5% (mean $2.9pm1.2%$) and from 3.9 to $13.8;mgO_2/g{cdot}dry$ (mean $8.5pm2.6;mgO_2/g{cdot}dry$), respectively, which were lower than the values for surface sediment in areas near fish and shellfish farms or industrial complexes. No AVS was detected at any sampling station, despite various sedimentary facies. Most of metallic elements in surface sediments showed relatively good positive correlations with Mz and IL, which imply that the concentrations of metallic elements are mainly controlled by grain size and the organic matter content. The concentrations of metallic elements, except As, at some stations were considerably lower than those in the Sediment Quality Guideline (Effect Range Low, ERL) proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States. Similarly, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) class indicated that pollution by metallic elements in intertidal surface sediment, except As, was moderate or non-existent. Our results imply that the intertidal surface sediments along the southwestern coast of Korea are not polluted by organic matter and metallic elements and are healthy for benthic organisms.