[en] A reconnaissance study has been made of the distribution of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs and geochemical features in soils and sediments samples at various locations in the northwestern coast of Persian Gulf. Activity concentration levels due to radionuclides were measured in 30 soil and sediment samples collected from this region. From the measured spectra, activity concentrations were determined for ⁴⁰K (range from 146 to 500 Bq kg^-1), ¹³⁷Cs (from 5 to 20 Bq kg^-1), ²³⁸U (from 21 to 65 Bq kg^-1) and ²³²Th (from 15 to 45 Bq kg^-1) with lowest limit detection (LLD) of 68, 3.2, 4.3 and 4.3 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The dose rate from ambient air at the soil ranges was between 19 and 58 nGy h^-1 with an average of 37.41 ± 9.66 nGy h^-1