The first data on the concentrations of dissolved REE in surface waters collected from the north passage of the Changjiang Estuary where the salinity ranges from 0.15 to 19 mg/g were determined by ICP-MS after preconcentration with solvent extraction and back-extraction techniques.Relative to other estuaries,the river-water end-member concentrations of dissolved REE are very low,ranging from 11.963 (Y) to 0.098 ng/kg (Lu).Dissolved REE removed markedly from water in the Changjiang Estuary where salinity lies within the range of 0.15-1 mg/g,but the percent removal is low,ranging only from 47%(La) to 25%(Lu).Strong water-sediment interaction due to shallow water depth in the Changjiang Estuary leads to remarkable concentration peaks of dissolved REE in the location where the salinity varies from 1 to 8 mg/g.In the moderate and high salinity regions from 8 to 19 mg/g,the concentrations of dissolved REE gradually increase as a result of desorption or partial dissolution of particles.