Abstract:China is a large mining country with abundant minerals species. China also has many abandoned mines left over from history. Due to the complex types of minerals, large differences in climate in different regions, different geohydrology conditions and different sensitivity of surrounding environment, the environmental risk is unknown and the basic situation of environmental pollution is unclear. At present, there lacks an evaluation method system for environmental risks of historically abandoned mines. This study attempts to establish an environmental risk assessment method for historical mines based on the analytic hierarchy process. A three-level index system for environmental risk assessment of solid waste in historical mines based on evaluation target layer, evaluation criterion layer and evaluation factor layer is constructed by selecting 12 leading and representative indicators, including mineral species, solid waste attributes, natural conditions, management measures, protection objectives and environmental quality. The judgment matrix was constructed and the weight of each influencing factor was clarified through consistency test. According to the actual scoring situation, the environmental risk level of historical mines was divided into three levels: general level, large level and serious level. On this basis, the management measures that should be taken for different risk levels were put forward: natural attenuation, risk control and remediation management. Finally, the established evaluation method was applied to the environmental risk assessment of 10 historically abandoned mines in a certain area of Northwest China. The results show that the number of mines with general, large and serious risks is 7, 2 and 1, respectively, which can provide reference for the differential environmental supervision of local historically abandoned mines.