Quite a lot of the safety problems of snacks had been reported in China. Compared to their impact on adults, children were more susceptible. It was crucial to carry out the risk monitoring on the snacks, however, due to a large variety of food safety risks and snacks categories, it was hard to perform a complete risk monitoring under the limited budget. Therefore it was important to perform the risk prediction first and establish an risk priority. Methods In this study, the snacks which children consumed frequently in Beijing area were taken as an example, the risk priority of all the snacks/hazard combinations were investigated based on the database of the potential hazards of the snacks related to children during 2011-2013 and consumption behavior of children aged 3-6. The snacks/risks combinations were divided into nine risk matrixes according to risk levels and consumption frequencies. Results The risk prediction results showed that the snacks, including cakes, cookies, candies and chips, which maintained highest consumption frequency and highest level of hazards, belonged to the No.1 risk matrix to be monitored. Conclusion This study provided suggestions for related supervision officials to make their risk monitoring plan on the safety of children's snacks.