Concentrations of copper, lead, cadmium, arsenic, hexachlorcyclohexane (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) in the water and the fish samples collected separately from fish pond, markets and supermarkets in four cities of Guangdong Province were measured by using GC-ECD, flame atomic absorption spectrometry and atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Health risk assessments associated with Cu, Pd, Cd, As, HCHs and DDTs were conducted based on the model of health risk assessment recommended by the US EPA. The results showed that the concentration ranges of Cu, Pd, Cd, As, HCHs and DDTs in water samples were nd-0.101 mg x L(-1), nd-0.097 mg x L(-1), nd-0.003 27 mg x L(-1), 0.0121-0.08127 mg x L(-1), 2.63-37.18 ng x L(-1) and 2.05-12.21 ng x L(-1), respectively. The health risk assessment indicates that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of Cu, Pd, Cd, HCHs and DDTs in Tilapias both lower than the highest acceptable level of risk set by ICRP, but As cancer risk value slightly exceeded the upper limit of the acceptable risk levels in city population.