Abstract: In order to investigate the characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions in the particles from coking process and in the plant area, the total suspended particulates (TSP) from combustion chamber exhaust chimney, the coke oven top as well as the ambient air surrounding the coke oven were collected using high-volume total suspended particulate samplers (TH-1000F, China). The PM_1.4 samples from the coke oven top and the ambient air surrounding the coke oven were also collected using Staplex234 cascade impactor in May 2012. Nine ions (SO₄^2-, NH₄⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^-, NO₃^-, F^-, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺) in the samples were analyzed by ICS-90 ion chromatograph. The results showed that SO₄^2- was the characteristic water-soluble ion during coking process. The total concentration of water-soluble inorganic ions in TSP was the highest in the exhaust gas of the combustion chamber, which was (5493±901)μg/m³, followed by TSP on the coke oven top, which was (902±222)μg/m³, and TSP in the ambient air surrounding the coke oven was the lowest, which was (712±288)μg/m³. SO₄^2- was the main common ion in the particles from coke oven combustion chamber exhaust, coal-fired boiler flue gas and coal-fired power plant flue gas. The ratio of SO₄^2- to total inorganic ions from the coke oven combustion chamber exhaust was higher than that from the flue gas of coal-fired boiler, while the opposite was true for F^-. NH₄⁺ tended to concentrate in fine particles, while SO₄^2- was concentrated in coarse particles from fugitive emissions on the coke oven top. The study showed that the distribution characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions in the particles from the coking process and in the ambient air surrounding coke oven were different. SO₄^2- was the water soluble ion with the highest mass concentration in TSP from the exhaust gas chimney of combustion chamber as well as the coke oven top.