This study took Lake Tuohu in Huaihe River Basin as the research object. In this study, 65 surface sediment samples in Lake Tuohu from Huaihe River Basin were collected systematically, with 11 heavy metals (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, Fe) and Al measured. The spatial distribution of heavy metals in surface sediment of Lake Tuohu was interpolated based on point-scale measurements using the inverse distance weight method. The geo-accumulation index (I_geo) and the potential ecological risk index were used to evaluate the pollution and risk levels of heavy metals. The sources of heavy metal pollution in sediments were analyzed using principal component analysis, correlation analysis, absolute factor score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model, positive matrix factorization (PMF) and other statistical methods. The results showed that the average contents of V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb in sediment samples of Lake Tuohu were 60.97-106.68, 68.09-104.52, 738.77-1445.53, 10.48-16.35, 28.17-45.89, 19.44-33.48, 47.15-84.29, 11.79-28.24, 0.14-0.36 and 22.59-45.58 mg/kg, respectively. The eastern lake bay showed the high enrichment of 10 heavy metals in lake sediments. Overall, Pb, Zn, Mn, Ni, As, and Cd were affected by anthropogenic input sources, and Cd pollution in sediment of Lake Tuohu was higher than other heavy metals, according to I_geo results. Single potential ecological risk index of Cd, ranging from 40.7 to 103.7, suggested a moderate to severe level for the potential ecological risk while other heavy metals presented the low risk levels in sediment. Overall, the average comprehensive potential ecological risk index of 10 heavy metals showed a slight risk level of heavy metals. Meanwhile, the comprehensive potential ecological risk level of heavy metals in sediments in the western lake bay and a small portion of southern lakeshore were moderate. Furthermore, the PMF model effectively provided auxiliary information on the contribution of heavy metal sources, making up for the deficiency of APCS-MLR model calculation. According to the results of PMF model, the relative contribution of the mixed source with natural and aquaculture, the mixed source with agricultural and traffic, and industrial source were 40.5%, 34.5% and 25.0%, respectively. This study can provide the data support and scientific basis for the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in lakes of Huaihe River Basin.