Abstarct: Zarivar Lake is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems in Iran, located in western Iran and in Kurdistan province.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contamination level of heavy mextals (As, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni) and also to assess the possible origin and distribution pattern of these element in the Zarivar lake bed sediments. To this end, 16 bulk sediment samples were taken from the entire lake. In addition to analyze the total mextal content of the samples using ICP-MS, some physicochemical properties of sediment samples such as clay content, pH, organic matter and calcium carbonate percentages were determined by means of standard methods. The geochemical data obtained were also analyze using multivariate statistical approaches (cluster analysis, principal component analysis and correlation analysis). Also, contamination status of the sediments were evaluated by calculating several geochemical indices such as Enrichment Factor (EF) and index of Geoaccumulation (Igeo) and Ecological risk index (Er). The results showed that the sediments of the lake have muddy sand and sandy mud in texture. The pH of all sediment samples fall in the alkaline range (7.9-7.13) due to the outcrop of carbonate units in the region. The amount of organic matter is relatively high in most sampling points, which can be attributed to the type of land use around the lake, in particular agricultural land. Calcium carbonate contents in all sediment samples indicate a wide range between 3.5 to 48 % which is attributable to the presence of carbonate rocks in the study area. Data from geochemical analyses showed that concentration of Pb (138 mg/kg on average) in all sampling stations was higher than the world mean of sediments and the level recommended by the Canadian sediment quality standard (SQGS). Zinc, copper and cadmium with mean concentration of 153, 183 and 1.77 mg/kg, respectively in the majority of sampling stations are similar to those of lead variations, indicating similar origin in sediments. The mean concentration of arsenic (1.77 mg/kg) in the samples is close to its corresponding level in world mean of sediments and the recommended value of the Canadian Quality Standard. The highest concentration of arsenic is observed at the two stations no. 5 and 6, which is most likely due to the entry of sewage from nearby villages and runoff of agricultural land around the lake in its northeast side. The calculated enrichment coefficient for mextals showed that the sediments have moderate to very high enrichment with respect to As, slightly to fairly severe with respect to Cr, relatively intense to severe with respect to Cu, extreme enrichment in terms of Pb and Zinc and moderate enrichment with respect to Zn. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) also showed that chromium, nickel, as well as arsenic fall in the non-polluted category and other mextals fall within the relatively high to very severe pollution levels. baxsed on the results of multivariate statistical analysis, it can be concluded that lead, cadmium, zinc and copper mextals are most likely derived from anthropogenic activities while chromium, nickel is mainly of geogenic sources. Arsenic has probably mixed input from both anthropogenic and geogenic sources.