Correspondence analysis, a non-parametric principal component analysis, has been used to analyze heavy mineral data so that variations between both samples and minerals can be studied simultaneously. Four data sets were selected to demonstrate the method. The first example, modern sediments from the River Nile, illustrates how correspondence analysis brings out extra details in heavy mineral associations. The other examples come from the Plio-Quaternary "Bourbonnais Formation" of the French Massif Central. The first data set demonstrates how the principal factor plane (with axes 1 and 2) highlights relationships between geographical position and the predominant heavy mineral association (metamorphic minerals and zircon), suggesting the paleogeographic source. In the second set, the factor plane of axes 1 and 3 indicates a subdivision of the metamorphic mineral assemblage, suggesting two sources of metamorphic minerals. Finally, outcrop samples were projected onto the factor plane and reveal ancient drainage systems important for the accumulation of the Bourbonnais sands. Statistical methods used in interpreting heavy minerals in sediments range from simple and classical methods, such as calculation of means and standard deviations, to the calculation of correspondences and variances. Use of multivariate methods is increasingly frequent (Maurer, 1983; Stattegger, 1986; 1987; Delaune et al., 1989; Mezzadri and Saccani, 1989) since the first studies of Imbrie and vanAndel (1964). Ordination techniques such as principal component analysis (Harman, 1961) synthesize large amounts of data and extract the most important relationships. We have chosen a non-parametric form of principal component analysis called correspondence analysis. This technique has been used in sedimentology by Chenet and Teil (1979) to investigate deep-sea samples, by Cojan and Teil (1982) and Mercier et al. (1987) to define paleoenvironments, and by Cojan and Beaudoin (1986) to show paleoecological control of deposition in French sedimentary basins. Correspondence analysis has been used successfully to interpret heavy mineral data (Tourenq et al, 1978a, 1978b; Bolin et al, 1982; Tourenq, 1986, 1989; Faulp et al, 1988; Ambroise et al, 1987). We provide examples of different situations where the method can be applied. We will not present the mathematical and statistical procedures involved in correspondence analysis, but refer readers to Benzécri et al.