Atmospheric pressure glow discharge excited by a DC voltage was realized in a 6 mm air gap by using a needle-water electrode discharge device. The atompheric pressure glow discharge has characteristic regions such as a cathode fall, a negative glow, a Faraday dark space, a positive column and an anode glow. The discharge is a normal glow through analyzing its voltage-current curve. The emission intensity of 337.1 nm spectral line from the second positive system of N2 was investigated because it can indicate the electron density with high energy. Results show that the maxima of high energy electrons appears in the vicinity of the needle tip, and it almost remains constant at other locations. The density of high energy electrons decreases with increasing the voltage. Similarly, it decreases with increasing the value of the ballast resistor. Oxygen atom is important for the sterilization and disinfection. The distribution of oxygen atom was also investigated by optical emission spectroscopy. It was found that the oxygen distribution is similar with the distribution of high energy electrons. These results are important for the application of atmospheric pressure glow discharge in environmental protection and biological treatment.