Heavy metal contamination is widespread across China, but the differences of dustfall heavy metals between industrial and non-industrial areas of the country remain incompletely understood. The research areas were firstly divided into industrial and non-industrial ones. The pollution status of dustfall heavy metals was comprehensively evaluated using chronological difference and ecological and health risks. The results showed that (1) As, Hg, Cd, Pb and Zn concentrations were significantly increased in industrial areas, whereas no significant change was observed for most heavy metals (except Pb and Zn) in non-industrial areas. The heavy metal concentrations were significantly higher in industrial areas than in non-industrial areas, which was largely associated with China’s industrial production mode and mining activities. (2) Cd had the highest ecological risk (E_rⁱ), and Cr and Ni had the lowest E_rⁱ throughout China. The E_rⁱ of As, Hg, Cu, Pb and Zn were more serious in industrial areas than in non-industrial areas. (3) The non-carcinogenic risk index of children was higher than that of adults in all exposure pathways in non-industrial and industrial areas, the carcinogenic risk index of four carcinogenic heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr and Ni) was within 10⁻⁶-10⁻⁴, and the carcinogenic risk was negligible.