Humic acids from sediments of different depositional environments have been studied by solid-state sup(13)C NMR and the results compared with the traditional wet chemical analysis. Results obtained are well in agreement with the previous literature reports that the carboxyl content measured by NMR correlated better with the total acidity, as well as with the carboxyl content obtained by wet chemical analysis after correction for amino acid carboxyl is made (following hydrolysis of petide bonds). There is a large discrepancy between the NMR and wet chemical measurements of phenolics. NMR spectra was also indicative of branched paraffinic structures in the humic acids from the Arabian Sea; the humic acids of sediments from estuarine and coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal being dominated by carbohydrates and aromatic structures and to a lesser extent by paraffinic structures. These differences are attributed to their different biogeochemical origin