To understand the contamination characteristics of foodborne pathogens in sea foods from Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea area of Yantai, and also find the background values of foodborne pathogenic bacteria contamination to provide basis for market supervision, consumption guidelines and risk warning.Methods The national food safety standard (GB 4789), food microbiological examination, was used to detect the different foodborne pathogens. The risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from sea food was calculated by a swift quantitative microbiological risk assessment tool (sQMRA). Results The total contamination level of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from sea food samples was 19.62%. Shellfish and crustaceans had higher contamination level than fish and seaweeds, which were 26.42%, 20.00%, 10.00% and 10.00% respectively. Oyster had the highest contamination level in shellfish which was 31.03%. The risk values of Vibrio parahaemolyticus when ingested heated sea food for general population of Yantai was 2.97×10-7, and the prevalence rate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was 6.03×10-6 times per person per year. The prevalence rate was the highest during July and September.Conclusion The fresh sea food of Yantai sea area from Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea was mainly contaminated by Vibrio parahaemolyticus. There was a potential risk of infection for general population when ingested contaminated sea food, particularly during the third quarter.