Rivers have a key role in life on the Earth and make an important environment for the investigation of different processes and features that may impact the mineralogical and geochemical compostion of the fine-grained sediments. The most important impact derives from lithology, chemical weathering and erosion, hydrodynamic sorting, particle size and anthropogenic influence. The upper course of the Save River is characterized by a large amount of rainfall, steep slopes, and frequent erosion of the material, causing minimal influence of chemical weathering, and prevailing influence of physical weathering and recycling. In such conditions, sediment source modelling and its quantification turned out to be a good method for a better understanding sediment generation processes. The model, combined with theoretically based diagrams, led to the conclusion that Quaternary sediments contributes most to the sediment balance. This research also implemented a new sampling method – this was the first use of time integrated mass flux samplers (TIMS) for colleting the suspended particulate material (SPM) in medium sized river, such as the Sava River. The main advantage of TIMS is the possibility of collecting considerable amount of the SPM, but the problem occurs during flood events. High discharges cause loss of the finest sediment particles – Fe-Mn oxide/hydroxides, clay minerals, organic particles, by which the representativeness of the sample is diminished. The composition of surface water of the Sava River reflects the geological background, but also the anthropogenic influence. Vast majority of elements have no correlation with hydrological parameters, or very weak negative correlation. Spatial distribution of anthropogenic elements in soils and sediments pointed out three main areas under the anthropogenic pressure; the first one is related to steel factory Acroni at Jesenice, the second one includes Celje area and zinc production, while the third is related to agricultural activities and sewage discharges in Zaprešić area.