The Kola River in the northern part of the Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia, flows into the Barents Sea via the Kola Bay. The river is a unique place for reproduction of salmon and an important source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Murmansk and the surrounding municipalities. To evaluate the environmental status of the Kola River water, sampling of the dissolved (<0.22 μm) and suspended (>0.22 μm) phases was performed at 12 sites along the Kola River and its tributaries during 2001 and 2002. Major (Ca, K, Mg, Na, S, Si, HCO3 and Cl) and trace (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti, and Zn) elements, total and particulate organic C (TOC and POC), N and P were analysed. Comparison with the boreal pristine Kalix River, Northern Sweden, shows that, except for Na, Cl, Al, Cu and Ni, which exceed the concentrations in the Kalix River by as much as 2–3 times, the levels of other major and trace elements are close to or even below the levels in the Kalix River. However, the results also demonstrate that pollutants from the three major sources: (1) the Cu–Ni smelter in Monchegorsk, (2) the open-pit Fe mine and ore concentration plant in Olenegorsk, and (3) the Varlamov, the Medveziy and the Zemlanoy creeks, draining the area of the large agricultural enterprises in the lower part of the watershed, have a major influence on the water quality of the Kola River.