Abstract: As an emerging contaminant in the marine environment, microplastics (MPs) have become a pressing global environmental concern. To study the distribution characteristics and potential ecological risks of MPs in the surface water of Shantou Port, catamaran sampling trawls with 330 μm mesh were used to collect MPs from the surface seawater at 9 stations. The physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics were analyzed by stereomicroscopy and Fourier transform micro-infrared spectrometer. The results showed that MPs were detected at all monitoring sites, with abundances ranging from 0.18 to 1.56 items/m³ and an average of 0.54 items/m³. Polypropylene and polyethylene were the main components of MPs, accounting for 63.8% and 32.4%, respectively. The dominant shape was fragment (53.7%), followed by film (18.6%) and granulate (17.9%). The proportion of MPs with a diameter of 1～＜2 mm was the highest (27.9%), and the color was mainly (56.2%). Based on compositional characteristics, the microplastics likely originated from land-based emissions, aquaculture, and navigation. MPs were unevenly distributed in the surface seawater of Shantou Port, resulting from the effects of river runoff, ocean currents, and tidal currents, with a gradual decrease from the inner port to the outer port. Ecological risk assessment revealed that the pollution load index (PLI) for microplastics in the area was Level I, while the polymer hazard index (PHI) was generally Level III. The primary high-risk microplastic types were polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, highlighting the urgent need to control plastic products with high chemical toxicity.