Aerosol particles play important roles in regional air quality and global climate change. In this study, we analyzed two-year (2011–2013) of measurements of submicron particles (6–800 nm) at a suburban site in western Yangtze River delta (YRD) of East China. The number concentrations (NCs) of particles in the nucleation, Aitken and accumulation modes were 5300 ± 5500, 8000 ± 4400, 5800 ± 3200 cm-3, respectively. Number concentrations and size distributions of submicron particles were also influenced by long-range and regional transport of air masses. The highest and lowest accumulation mode particle number concentrations were observed in air masses from YRD and coastal region, respectively. Continental air masses from inland had the highest concentrations of nucleation mode particles. New particle formation (NPF) events, apparent in 44% of the effective measurement days, occurred frequently in all the seasons except winter. Radiation and pre-existing particles were found to be the main factors influencing the occurrence of NPF events. The particle formation rate was the highest in spring (3.6 ± 2.4 cm-3 s-1), whereas the particle growth rate had the highest values in summer (12.8 ± 4.4 nm h-1). The formation rate was typically high in relatively clean air masses, whereas the growth rate tended to be high in the polluted YRD air masses. The frequency of NPF events and the growth rate showed a strong year-to-year difference. In the summer of 2013, associated with a multi-week heat wave and photochemical pollution, NPF events occurred more frequently and the growth rate was much higher than in the same period of 2012. The difference in the location and strength of sub-tropical High, which influences the air mass transport pathways and solar radiation, seems to be the driving cause for year-to-year differences. This study reported the longest continuous measurement records of submicron particles in the East China and gained a comprehensive understanding of the main factors controlling the seasonal and year-to-year variation of the aerosol size distribution and NPF in the East China. The work highlights the importance and need for long-term measurements in understanding the atmosphere system and the impact by human activities.