Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), emitted from both natural and anthropogenic sources, play a vital role in the processes of atmospheric chemistry and the global carbon budget. To understand the potential impact of land-sea interaction on the component and variation of VOCs, a series of trace gases, including non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), volatile halogenated hydrocarbons (VHCs), and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were investigated in both coastal cities and the marginal seas of China, in spring, 2021. Higher concentrations of most NMHCs were detected in the urban atmosphere over the northern cities, while the concentrations of biogenic gases, such as isoprene, CH₃I, CH₂Br₂, and CHBr₃ were higher in the southern cities. The local emission seemed to be responsible for the VOCs characteristics of the urban atmosphere. The concentrations of NMHCs in the marine atmosphere decreased as it got far away from the coast. An exponential decay of several VOCs (ethylene, propane, n-butane, and iso-butane) was found with air parcel transport time and the attenuation exponents were associated with their atmospheric lifetime. In addition, the source of atmospheric VOCs in the marginal seas of China was estimated using potential matrix factorization with four established factors, including land natural processes, land anthropogenic activities, ship emissions, and ocean ventilation. The proportion of the terrestrial contribution to the alkanes was 66 ± 10 %, and was obviously larger than that of alkenes (40 ± 3 %), indicating a more remarkable influence of terrestrial input on atmospheric alkanes than alkenes.