Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two (210)Pb dated sediment cores from the coastal East China Sea, strongly influenced by the discharge from the Yangtze River, were determined to help to reconstruct the economic development over the past century in East China. The variations in PAH concentrations and fluxes in the sediment cores were primarily due to energy structure change, severe floods and dam construction activities. The impact on PAHs by the river discharge overwhelmed the atmospheric depositions. The profiles of PAH fluxes and concentrations as well as compositions in the cores revealed the transformation from an agricultural economy to an industrial one especially after the 1990s' in the region. PAHs in the study area were dominated by pyrolytic sources.