To investigate the occurrence of lead in liquid milk in China.Methods Lead contents were measured using GFAAS method after digestion and the limit of detection (LOD) was 2.5 μg/kg. 98 samples were collected from 15 provinces of China in 2013. Results The results showed that only 20.4% of the samples contained detectable concentrations of lead ranging from 2.53 to 30.5 μg/kg with a mean level of 2.43 μg/kg, and all below the lead limit (50 μg/kg) of Chinese legislation.Conclusion Lead content in liquid milk in China was generally low, while the 75^th and 95^th percentile amounted up to 40% and 60% of the lead limit, which deserved attention. In order to reduce the lead level in liquid milk, it is necessary to improve the whole process including milk production, storage and sales process.