To develop the quantitative food microbial risk ranking model in China.Methods Based on the real consumption data, parameters for cross-contamination and cooking habits deriving from an expert elicitation, the food pathogen monitoring results from a province in 2010 was used as an example, a deterministic risk ranking model and matrix were used to prioritize the microbial hazards and food types combination. Results There was high health risk and relative high risks caused by Cronobacter in baby formula and Salmonella in raw meat and poultry. 89.2% illness was salmonellosis and 87.0% of the cases were attributed to the raw meat and poultry consumption. It also indicated that combinations like raw meat-Salmonella were the top priority for risk assessments and the cross-contamination should be a key factor. Conclusion A quantitative risk ranking model for food microbial contamination was preliminary developed and further validation was needed.