Abstract. The results of the study of the gross mercury content in the bottom sediments of small lakes in the taiga zone (humid sedimentogenesis) are summarized. It is shown that mercury concentrations in organomineral sediments correspond mainly to its contents in rocks of the upper continental crust (background values). In bottom sediments, mercury is adsorbed by organic matter, biogenic silica and layered silicates. The regularities of the vertical distribution of gross mercury in stratified sections of bottom sediments of lakes of the taiga zone, geographically located in different regions of Siberia and on the southeastern edge of the Baltic Shield, have been established.