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Abstract: The distribution of 15 phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in water, sediment and suspended particle samples from representative lakes of Beijing was investigated and its relationship with anthropogenic activities was also assessed. The sample preparation and analysis methods for PAEs, using solid-phase extraction or microwave assisted extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, were developed to achieve the satisfactory detection limits and recoveries. The analysis results indicated occurrences of most target PAEs were widespread in the researched lakes with the total PAE concentrations ranged from 0.386 to 3.184μg/L in water, from 52.6 to 8216.4ng/g dry weight in sediments and from 138.7 to 2052.4μg/g dry weight in suspended particles. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-butyl phthalate were the predominant PAEs, frequently being detected in all matrices, followed by di-iso-butyl phthalate and butyl benzyl phthalate. It was also found that anthropogenic activities were associated with the spatial distribution of phthalates in sediments considering its relationship with population distribution characteristics of Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]