To comprehensively investigate the seasonal variations in submicron particles (PM1 = NR-PM1 + BC) composition, sources and chemical processes, an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), along with a multiangle absorption photometer (MAAP), was deployed to observe at urban sites in the North China Plain from October 1, 2015, to July 31, 2016. The PM1 average mass were 36.4 ± 39.0, 32.9 ± 20.7, 40.4 ± 52.4 and 99.0 ± 88.7 μg m−3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. On the whole, the OA accounted for the largest component of PM1 during the four seasons, with the highest contribution in winter, accounting for 49% on average, followed by autumn (47%), spring (40%) and summer (31%). The secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) mass concentration in summer was the lowest but contributed the most to PM1 in summer (62%), and it was higher than that in spring (46%), autumn (43%) and winter (41%). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used to differentiate the high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) of organic aerosol (OA) into six factors, including two secondary OA (highly oxidized, low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosols (LV-OOA) and less oxidized, semi-volatile oxygenated OA (SV-OOA)) and four primary OA (including cooking-related OA (COA), hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), biomass burning OA (BBOA) and coal combustion OA (CCOA)). OOA (LV-OOA + SV-OOA) exhibited the highest OA loading in summer (59%), while POA (CCOA + COA + HOA) exhibited the highest OA loading in winter (62%). The OA exhibited similar bimodal diurnal patterns during the four seasons, the nitrate and sulfate seasonal diurnal variations slightly differed, and the peak value occurred at night in winter and in the morning during the other seasons. The trend of the LV-OOA and SV-OOA diurnal variation in spring, autumn and winter appeared small difference, and the summer vary differently compared to other seasons. However, the diurnal mass concentration in winter was much higher than other seasons. The COA diurnal pattern peaked at noon and at night during the four seasons, corresponding to the peak hours of dining activities. The HOA, BBOA and CCOA seasonal diurnal patterns showed low concentrations during the daytime and high concentrations at night. OA on HPD was 6, 7 and 7 times higher than that on CD in spring, autumn and winter. The SIA concentration significantly increased on HPD in spring (69.3 μg m−3, 52%), autumn (80.6 μg m−3, 50%) and winter (82.4 μg m−3, 43%). The organic nitrate average mass concentrations were 0.6 ± 0.5, 0.7 ± 0.2, 0.8 ± 1.2 and 2.5 ± 2.3 μg m−3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The organic nitrate diurnal pattern appeared at night was higher than that during the daytime in spring, autumn and winter. The opposite diurnal pattern emerged in summer. The average mass concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the entire observation period reached 73.2 ± 154.2 ng m−3, and the seasonal average mass were 30.4 ± 30.6, 10.7 ± 4.0, 40.5 ± 10.3 and 220.3 ± 246.7 ng m−3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The highest diurnal values in spring, summer, autumn and winter were 44.2, 11.7, 71.6 and 366.8 ng m−3, respectively.