In recent decades, due to population growth in the Meshgin-Shahr region and consequently increasing demand for water use for drinking, agriculture and industry has caused groundwater to be important water source in the area. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the groundwater quality in the area, along with its quantity. The objectives of this study are to investigate the possible origin of some heavy metals in the groundwater of Meshgin-Shahr plain using multivariate statistical methods, including cluster analysis and factor analysis along with correlation coefficient and also identifying the factors affecting groundwater quality in the area. For this purpose, 20 groundwater samples were collected in October 2016. The pH, electrical conductivity, major (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfate, carbonate, and bicarbonate) and some minor (nitrate, fluoride and silica) species and ions as well as heavy metal(loid)s such as iron, manganese, aluminum, zinc, chromium, copper, cadmium, lead and arsenic were measured. The results of the chemical analysis showed that some of the samples for some heavy metals e. g., aluminum, lead, cadmium, zinc and arsenic had concentrations above the permissible limit for drinking. The results showed that the weathering and dissolution of geological units, especially the Eocene units in the northern Sabalan, ion exchange and agricultural activities are effective on the groundwater quality of the area. According to the results of multivariate analysis, most of the heavy metals in the groundwater are originated from volcanic formations in the area and salinity and acidity play an important role in releasing them into the groundwater. Factor analysis revealed that geogenic processes with a total of 79. 9% of variance and anthropogenic factors with a total of 6. 6% of variance control the groundwater chemistry. Therefore, considering that geological processes are major groundwater quality controlling factor in the Meshgin plain aquifer, and the release of heavy metals into water often occurs under the influence of acidity and salinity of water, it is necessary to take the required actions to control them to prevent the enriching of groundwater by heavy metals in the future.