Large amounts of particulate and volatile matter derived from incense burning have become one of the important sources of indoor air pollution. At present, the research about the effect of burning incense on the local air environment mainly focused on determining particulate matters, volatile gases, and organic pollutants after incense burning. The research about the emission efficiencies and emission factors of heavy metals and the effect of particulate heavy metals on indoor air quality after incense burning has not been reported. To better understand the emission characteristics of heavy metals in Tibetan incense, nine kinds (S1-S9) of line-type Tibetan incense powder samples and their total suspended particulates (TSP) after burning were digested by microwave digestion method with programmed temperature procedure, and four primary kinds of heavy metal elements (i.e. As, Cd, Cu, Pb) in these powder samples. Their TSP were determined by the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) with the wavelength 188.980 nm for As, 214.439 nm for Cd, 327.395 nm for Cu and 220.353 nm for Pb, respectively. The experiment results are listed as follows: (1) The contents of four heavy metals are different in different Tibetan incense samples, and the average content of heavy metal from high to low is in the order of Cu, Pb, As and Cd. The source of Cd and Pb in different Tibetan incense samples is similar, remarkably different from As and Cu. (2) After burning, the amounts of smoke and dust from different Tibetan incense samples are different. The largest and minimum amounts are 94.75 and 38.52 mg·kg-1, respectively. (3) The emission amounts of As, Cd and Pb in the total suspended particles from different Tibetan incense samples depend on their contents in the incense sample. However, the emission amount of Cu is not only dependent on the incense samples but also affected by other factors. (4) The emission efficiency of heavy metals in Tibetan incense samples from high to low is in the order of Cd, As, Pb, and Cu. The emission factor from high to low is in the order of As, Pb, Cd, and Cu. (5) The emission of As and Cd from Tibetan incense samples after burning may adversely affect local atmosphere quality. Among these samples, the highest contents of As and Cd in the TSP of S3, S5 and S9 from the same manufacturer. The manufacturer is suggested to control the source and content of As and Cd stricter to decrease the heavy metal pollution in indoor air and the risk to human health after burning Tibetan incenses.