The spatial and temporal distribution,diurnal variation and profile with height of atmospheric aerosol’s total suspended particles(TSP),PM₁₀(particulate matter with a diameter equal to or less than 10 micrometers) and PM_2.5(particulate matter with a diameter equal to or less than 2.5 micrometers) have been documented based on a large amount of environmental monitoring data at urban,suburb and different city functional areas,such as residential,commercial,cultural & educational,industrial,traffic,and park areas in Yinchuan.Results show that the averaged background atmospheric TSP is 0.126~0.248mg·m^-3,less than that of National Pollutant Control Standard (NPCS) grade 3; the yearly averaged TSP is 0.47~0.78mg·m^-3,1.57~2.6 times of NPCS grade 2;and the maximum daily average TSP is 7.9 times of NPCS grade 3.The probability of TSP greater than that of NPCS grade 3 is 61.3%~92.5%.The daily averaged TSP is greater in winter and spring than in summer and autumn,due to coal-burning for house heating in winter and sandstorms in spring.The TSP is greater in commercial,traffic and residential areas,it is closely related to the human activities and vehicle emissions.The diurnal variation of TSP accords with human activities.The TSP is much greater in urban area,especially in densely populated,heavily commercial activities and more urbanized areas.The segregated mass concentration decreases with height,whereas the ratio of PM₁₀ in TSP increases with height,indicating that PM₁₀ increases with height.PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are large at about 2m above the ground surface,so it may be related to source emission near the ground.