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Facts in the field show that there are still many students who have difficulty in understanding concepts of algebra and have a low ability in algebraic thinking. One of the factors that influence the situation is because students find it difficult to change their thinking processes from arithmetic thinking to algebraic thinking. Students who are accustomed to operating in arithmetic terms of reference tend not to see the relational aspects of operations, but their focus is on calculations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of students mathematical representation in solving problems related to algebraic thinking. This research is a qualitative research conducted on 6th grade students of elementary school and 7th grade students of junior high school. Based on the analysis of the results of written tests and interviews, it was found that elementary and high school students have similarities and differences in the mathematical representations they use to solving algebraic thinking problems. In addition, the researcher found that both elementary school students and junior high school students tended to use a combination of several representations to express mathematical ideas found in the problem.