Based on the meteorological and air quality data in the autumn and winter of 2015—2018, PM10, PM2.5 and other pollutants in North China Plain (NCP) during the sand dust occurred in northern China are analyzed, and the transmission paths of the dust are classified. The results suggest the dust transport paths are closely related to upper-level winds at 500 and 850 hPa. Three types of dust were identified according to the transmission paths of dust: the Eastward Diffusion type, the Southeast Transmission type and the Northeast Transmission type. These three types of dust account for 38.9%, 38.9% and 22.2% of the statistics, respectively. The results show that the intensity and influence range of the dust of the Eastward Diffusion types are the largest, with the average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 in NCP were 156.4 and 86.1 μg.m-3. The dust of the Southeast Transmission type dissipates rapidly with the low intensity of dust and high wind speed in NCP, and the pollution in NCP was the lightest among the three types of dust. The average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 were 171.9 and 117.8 μg.m-3 in NCP during the Northeast Transmission type, the highest pollution among the three types of dust. The influence of lower wind speed and downdraft in NCP may lead to the accumulation of pollutant. Moreover, the average relative humidity during the Northeast Transmission type in NCP is 4% ~ 5% higher than the other two types of dust, especially in the coastal area, the relative humidity is more than 70%, which may promote the heterogeneous formation of secondary particles and aggravate the pollution.