Heavy metals as one of major pollutants is harmful to the health of forest ecosystems. In the present paper, the concentrations of thirteen heavy metals (Fe, Al, Ti, Cr, Cu, Mn, V, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb, Se and Cd) were compared between natural and plantation forests in the Mt. Lushan by ICP-AES and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results suggest that the soil of natural forest had higher concentrations of Fe, Al, Ti, Cu, Mn, V, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb, Se, and Cd than the plantation forest except for Cr. The soil of natural forest had a higher level of heavy metals than that of the plantation forest as a whole. This might be due to that the natural forest has longer age than the plantation forest, and fixed soil heavy metals take a longer period of time than the plantation forest.