To obtain the variability of the characteristics both within and between the different types of the paved road dust, the samples on driveway and cycling way of three road types (highway, main road and secondary main road) in urban area of Tianjin were collected and analyzed in 2006. The paved road dust was also sampled and analyzed in five Chinese cities, Shijiazhuang, Handan, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou and Nanjing, in the source apportionment studies during 2000 to 2004. The characterizations of size distributions and the chemical profiles of urban paved road are discussed based on the data of these researches. The size distribution data show that the silt contents and silt loadings of Tianjin paved road dust on driveways are less than cycling way for each road type. And the proportions of fine particles (<13.3μm and <6.2μm) in paved road dust are less than the soil and construction dust. The chemical analysis result shows that geological materials have great contribution to the paved road dust. The content of crustal elements has close relationship with sampling methods, and the vacuum sampling can be regarded as a better sampling method for paved road dust. The mass percent of TC, OC and Zn in paved road dust is higher than that in the soil in each city. The Mn, Pb, Cr and three ions (NH₄⁺, Cl^- and SO₄^2-) are also enriched in Tianjin paved road dust, which shows that vehicle exhaust, tire wear and ambient particulate are three major contributors to the paved road dust. By comparing the profiles of paved road dust of all the six cities of China with foreign cities, the mass percent of Cr in Tianjin paved road dust is the highest, and the abundances of Cu, Zn and Pb of the six China cities are lower than foreign cities.