Dredging rivers is needed to ensure safe navigable waters, rivers and waterways. To anticipate the management ofdredged materials in the case of the river Seine basin, the quality of the sediments in the river is checked every 3years before dredging operations. The river Seine Basin is heavily submitted to pollution pressure from nearbyindustrial activities and urban expansion of Paris and its region. Here, the micropollutant content of the sedimentsampled in 1996, 1999 and 2000 before dredging is discussed compared to regulatory standards. The results indicatethat most of the sediment samples from the river Seine basin are lightly to moderately contaminated with organicand inorganic micropollutants (heavy metals, PAH, PCB), which makes the management after dredging easier. Thispollution is strongly correlated with the organic matter content and to the fine fraction (-50 mm) of the sediment.These results can lead to other management options than the ones already used in the river Seine basin: (1) dumpingof lightly to moderately polluted sediments in quarries; and (2) physical treatment (sieving, hydrocycloning) ofcontaminated sediments issued from ‘hot spots’.