Abstract: The use of water-based drilling cuttings as a pave in drilling site is an important way for the reuse of the waste. However, the environmental impact from the reuse has not been fully understood due to the variation in the contents of elements in water-based drill cuttings from different regions. The distribution and leaching characteristics of typical elements in the water-based drilling cuttings from the drilling platforms of five typical oil and gas fields in Hainan, China, were investigated. Further, the environmental impacts on groundwater from the reuse were assessed. The results indicated that the concentrations of Ni, As, Se, Sb, Pb, Hg, Tl, Mo and Ba in the investigated water-based drilling cuttings did not exceed the corresponding risk screening values for Class Ⅱ land specified in Soil environment quality: risk control standard for soil contamination of development land (GB 36600-2018); and the concentrations of all elements, excluding Tl, were related with the sampling depths significantly. Compared with the limits of Class Ⅲ set in Groundwater Quality Standard (GB/T 14848-2017), the exceedance rates of Pb, Tl and As in the leachate reached 36.5%, 16.5% and 16.5%, respectively. Among the investigated elements, arsenic had the highest leaching rate (35.7%). The results of risk estimation based on Texas model and on-site measurement of the groundwater below the pave in drilling site suggested that the use of water-based drill cuttings as a paved surface in drilling site was safe, with the concentrations of all tested items not exceeding the Class Ⅲ limit specified in GB/T 14848-2017.