Objective To analyze the pollution status and exposure risks of heavy metals by three edible traditional Chinese herbal medicine， such as ganoderma lucidum， dendrobium officinale， and American ginseng in Guangdong Province.Methods Fresh and dried raw materials of Ganoderma lucidum， Dendrobium officinale， and Panax quinquefolium， as well as food products， were collected from 10 cities in Guangdong Province. Among them， 33 samples were collected in Guangzhou， and 30 samples were collected in each of the other 9 cities. The concentrations of lead， cadmium， total mercury， and total arsenic in the three substances were determined and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma method. Based on the point assessment model， we calculated the average concentrations of heavy metals in fresh （converted at a dry rate） and dried raw materials， and evaluated the health risks according to the medicinal and dietary consumption patterns.Results As the dietary consumption pattern， the exposure levels were higher than the medical consumption pattern， and the cadmium exposure levels of Ganoderma lucidum， Dendrobium officinale and American ginseng accounted for 8.51%， 8.72% and 8.56% of PTMI. The exposure levels of total mercury accounted for 3.51%， 0.91%， and 1.08% of PTWI. The MOE values of lead exposure were 11.56， 7.14， and 20.94， respectively， while the MOE values of total arsenic exposure were 68.34， 102.39， and 152.28， respectively. After considering the dietary exposure pathway， the risks of heavy metal caused by the three edible traditional Chinese herbal medicine were still within an acceptable range.Conclusion Residents in Guangdong Province had a lower risks of exposure to lead， cadmium， total mercury， and total arsenic through the dietary exposure pattern of ganoderma lucidum， dendrobium officinale， and panax quinquefolium.