The snow and ice samples, collected at Glacier No. 1 at the headwaters of Urumqi River (UG1) and Glacier No. 51 at Haxilegen of Kuytun River (HG51) in 2002 and 2004, were analyzed for organic carbon (OC) and element carbon (EC) by thermal/ optical reflectance (TOR). The spatio-temporal characteristics and environmental significance of OC and EC concentration were discussed in details. The concentration order of total carbon (TC) was: snowpack of west branch on UG1 (1 943 ng x g(-1)) > snowpack of east branch on UG1 (989 ng x g(-1)) > snowpack of HG51 (150 ng x g(-1)) > glacier ice of east branch on UG1 (77 ng x g(-1)), and the concentration order of OC and EC lay similar as TC. The concentration of OC and EC in snowpack of Tianshan Mountains were 557 ng x g(-1) and 188 ng x g(-1), respectively. Concentration peak of carbonaceous aerosol usually appeared near the dust layer at the bottom section of snowpack, but the some sudden events could increase the concentration in the surface snow. Because of the seasonality of carbon emission (e. g. heating and agricultural activities) and transportation (e. g. atmospheric circulation), the concentration of carbonaceous aerosol increased from July to November with fluctuations. Difference on the order of magnitude might exist between the concentration in snow (firn) and glacier ice, which was influenced by the glacier surroundings, sampling situation and other factors. EC on the surface snow affected the albedo significantly, and an average albedo reduction of 0.22 in the wavelength of 300-700 nm was simulated by SNICAR (snow, ice, and aerosol radiative) model.