Intenzivnim razvojem industrije, poljoprivrede i urbanizacije dolazi do pretjerane emisije teških metala u okoliš koji zbog svojih svojstava bioakumulacije mogu imati negativan utjecaj na sve sastavnice okoliša. U okviru ovoga ada je istražena prisutnost pojedinih teških metala u uzorcima tla i biljaka na sjeverozapadu Hrvatske, uz tok rijeke Drave. Ukratko su razmotrene i predložene mogućnosti uklanjanja teških metala iz tla. U svrhu utvrđivanja stvarne prisutnosti akumuliranih teških metala na obalnom području rijeke Drave u travnju 2014. godine pristupilo se prikupljanju uzoraka tla i biljaka na ukupno sedam lokacija na području Varaždinske županije. Ta područja su povremeno izložena poplavama zbog izlijevanja rijeke Drave i nanosa mulja onečišćenog teškim metalima koji su u rijeku dospjeli kao posljedica antropogenih i prirodnih procesa na uzvodnim dijelovima toka Drave u Sloveniji i Austriji. U uzorcima biljaka i tla određene su koncentracije arsena (As), bakra (Cu), kadmija (Cd), kroma (Cr), kobalta (Co), cinka (Zn), željeza (Fe), mangana (Mn), nikla (Ni), olova (Pb) i žive (Hg). Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju da na pojedinim lokacijama koncentracije nekih teških metala premašuju zakonom propisane maksimalno dopuštene koncentracije (MDK). Utvrđeno je prekoračenje MDK za kadmij, olovo, cink, bakar i nikal. Biljke krasolika, maslačak, zlatošipka i lucerna su pokazale vrlo dobar fitoakumulacijski, fitoeksploatacijski i indikatorski potencijal za daljnja opažanja i istraživanja..; Intensely developing industry and agriculture as well as urbanization have led to excessive heavy metal emissions into the environment that, due to their bioaccumulation properties, may have a negative impact on all components of the environment. The paper explores the presence of certain heavy metals in the soil and plant samples taken along the Drava River course in northeast Croatia. The possibilities of heavy metal removal from the soil are briefly considered and proposed. In order to determine the actual presence of accumulated heavy metals in the Drava riverbank area, soil and plant sampling was carried out at seven Varaždin County locations in April 2014. These areas are occasionally exposed to flooding by the Drava River, which includes its bedload polluted with heavy metals that entered the river consequential to anthropogenic and natural processes in the upstream Drava sections in Slovenia and Austria. The concentrations of arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chrome (Cr), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) have been determined in the plant and soil samples. The obtained results indicate that the concentrations of certain heavy metals exceed the legally prescribed maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs) in some locations. The MPC exceedances were determined for cadmium, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. The plants fleabane, dandelion, goldenrod and alfalfa showed very good phytoaccumulation, phytoexploitation and indicator potentials for further observation and exploration..