Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of anthropogenic pollutants that contain two ormore fused aromatic rings in linear, angular, or clustered arrangements. PAHs are introduced into marine environmentsthrough events such as atmospheric deposition, accidental oil spills, transport accidents, combustion of fuels, municipal,and urban runoff. PAHs elicit particular concern, and 16 PAHs were listed as priority pollutants by the US EPA becauseof their health risk as potential carcinogens and mutagens. Because of their lipophilic properties and resistance to degradation,PAHs can accumulate in organic tissue. Consequently, alarming concentrations of these compounds have beenfound in many marine species. Levels, composition profiles, and health risk assessment of PAHs were studied in 24species of marine organisms collected from Zhanjiang mangroves. PAH concentrations were determined using gaschromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the total concentration of PAHs in 11 speciesof marine fishes, 3 species cephalopods, 6 species crustaceans, and 4 species shellfish ranged from 191–491 ng/g, respectively, and their average levels were 349.2 ng/g,420.9 ng/g, 424.3 ng/g, and 455.9 ng/g, respectively. The average PAH concentrations differed among species and inthe following decreasing order: shellfish>crustaceans>cephalopods>marine fishes. Compared with PAH levels of othercoastal areas of the world, the PAH levels from Zhanjiang mangroves were low to moderate. The composition of PAHswas characterized by three rings of PAHs. Potential risk assessments demonstrated that the levels of benzo[a]pyrene infishes, cephalopods, crustaceans, and shellfish from Zhanjiang mangroves were within the EU limits and wereconsidered acceptable (<10