Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) belong to the class of polar pollutants and are of emerging concern in the aquatic environment. This thesis investigated the occurrence of PPCPs in the Baltic Sea, East and South China Sea and their transportation along rivers. The conducted field work revealed, that PPCPs can already be detected in the off-shore regions of the East and South China Sea and near the coast of the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, distribution pattern of PPCs in rivers of different physical dynamics and sizes are described within this work.