Abstract: In order to study the environmental harm degree of heavy metals in "three small" gold waste residue, take a river sediment as the main research object, and the potential ecological risk index method is used to evaluate heavy metal pollution. The results show that the average values of Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Hg, and Ni, respectively, are 8.01,1252.21,60.00,193.88,261.54,5.36,23.13,1.04mg/kg; the mean values of Hg and Cd are 44,4,64.69 and 1306.18 are strong ecological hazard, and the mean of Pb potential ecological hazard coefficient is 252.46, which is strong ecological hazard; the minimum value of heavy metals in river sediment has reached 639.42, which is a strong ecological hazard. Heavy metals in river sediment have the same characteristics in gold waste residue..