Bottom deposits of selected rivers in the Świętokrzyskie Region of Poland flowing through areas of various geological characteristics and land development were analyzed for the presence of cadmium, zinc and lead. Microwave-assisted 3-stage sequential extraction recommended by the European Union (EU) was applied for that purpose as well as a 5-stage extraction proposed by Tessier et al. Residues after sequential extraction were mineralized in concentrated nitric acid in order to check if applied sequential extraction procedures allowed extraction of total amounts of metals from bottom deposits. Metal contents were determined with F-AAS technique in particular extracts.