A procedure to screen the elements used in the research on the elemental zonation in a primary halo is rarely conducted, which is not conducive to the acquisition of an accurate understanding of the rules of elemental zonation. In this paper, the authors chose the Zhajiatongna gold deposit in Qinghai Province as a study case and aimed to study the difference between ore-forming metallic elements in the ability of forming a primary halo through comparing the elemental enrichment degrees in the wall rocks, mineralized wall rocks, and orebodies and on the basis of 2 779 samples from the drill cores of the deposit. It is found that the concentrations of Au, As, Sb, Hg, W, and Ag progressively increase from the wall rocks through mineralized wall rocks to orebodies, indicating a greater possibility of forming a primary halo for these elements. Zinc is enriched only in the orebodies, with less possibility of forming a large-scale primary halo. Elements of Mo, Cu, Pb, and Sn show insignificant enrichment or even show depletion, indicating a less possibility of forming a primary halo.A trend of enrichment zonation of ore-forming elements was recognized: Au, As, Sb in the wall rocks, Au, As, Sb, W, Hg (Ag) in the mineralized wall rocks, and Au, As, Ag, Sb, W, Hg and Zn in the orebodies. Elements show a decreasing weight of enrichment in the mineralized wall rocks in order of As, Hg, Au, Sb, W, Mo, Sn, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ag, suggesting the progressively decreasing ability of entering into the wall rocks from the orebodies in order of low-temperature metallogenic elements through medium-temperature metallogenic elements to high-temperature metallogenic elements. Therefore, in the Zhajiatongna gold deposit, elements such as As, Hg, Au, Sb and W are optimal for researches on elemental zonation and mineral prediction.