Abstract: Marine litter is of global concern particularly in relation to its potential impacts on aquatic ecosystem and human health. The present study was conducted to identify the characteristics and distribution of marine litter in the Bohai offshore area. Six sampling sections, each with a length of 5-10 km, were sampled along coastal Liaodong Bay. Preliminary results showed that floating litter was present at an average concentration of 67 items/km², corresponding to the mass density of 741 g/km²; while, marine litter collected from seafloor was present at a concentration of 19 items/km², corresponding to the mass density of 2544 g/km². Among these sampling sites, plastic was the dominant composition, accounting for 50.9% of the total litter sampled. Moreover, proportion of plastic in benthic marine litter (62.1%) was higher than that of floating marine litter (37.5%). Morphological characteristic and labeling information on the surface of plastic litter indicated that 84.9% of the waste was of domestic origin, and 15.1% originated from commercial fishing. Results suggest that litter waste in the marine environment might be reduced by strengthening and enforcing the management for fishery wastes, raising awareness of marine environmental protection, and implementation a national marine plastic litter action plan.