The national architectural ceramic industrial center in east China is suffering from serious ambient fine particle pollution. The study reported herein describes an effort to ascertain the degree and sources of the PM2.5 collected at a ceramic industrial base in winter. The major chemical components in PM2.5 were analyzed, including carbonaceous aerosols, water-soluble ions, and inorganic elements. The chemical mass balance (CMB) model, backward trajectory method and potential source contribution function model, etc. were used to track and identify possible sources and contributions of these chemical components in the formation of the PM2.5. The results showed that the average PM2.5 concentration during sampling period was 134 ± 74.7 μg m -3 , which exceeding World Health Organization (WHO)Air Quality Guidelines levels. The dominant components in the PM2.5 at this sampling site were found to be secondary ions (sulfate and nitrate) and carbon fractions.Water-soluble ions and total carbon contributed about 48.7% and 13.9% of the PM2.5 mass, respectively. In addition, the SO4 2-/NO3ratio in the ambient PM2.5 during the sampling period was 1.16, indicating that it was the result of primarily emissions from stationary sources. Furthermore, source apportionment using the CMB model indicated that a ceramic industry source was the main contributor to the PM2.5 mass, which accounted for about 27.9%, and this was followed by secondary formation dust sources, and gasoline/diesel vehicle exhaust emissions and motor vehicle non-exhaust emissions. Based on the backward trajectory analysis and potential source apportionment, it was found that PM2.5 regional transmission existed, but it originated primarily from local sources and surrounding areas. Hence, this study provided a