In order to investigate the influence of the emission reduction measure during the Beijing APEC on the concentrations and pollution characteristics of humic-like substances (HULIS) in atmospheric fine particles, PM₂.₅ samples were collected and analyzed for OCEC, WSOC, HULIS and water-soluble ions. The concentration of HULIS in PM₂.₅ ranged 1 µg · m⁻³-15 µg · m⁻³. HULIS concentrations were 7.99 µg · m⁻³, 5.83 µg · m⁻³ and 7.06 µg · m⁻³ before, during and after APEC, which indicated emission reduction measure had important effect on the reduction of HULlS. The decrease of HULIS during the APEC was significantly faster than those of EC and WSOC, while the increase of HULIS turned out to be much slower than OC, EC, WSOC and PM₂.₅ after the meeting. The proportions of HULIS to PM₂.₅ were 13.60%, 13.59%, 14.02% and 12.22% at four different stages, i. e., whole sampling period, before, during and after the APEC, while HULIS-C/OC and HULIS-C/WSOC were 28.95%, 35.51%, 28.37%, 19.93%; and 52.75%, 59.58%, 51.54%, 45.39%, respectively. HULlS was significantly positively correlated with humidity, while significantly negatively correlated with wind speed. Biomass burning and secondary transformation of VOCs might be two important sources of HULlS in Beijing.