Objective To understand the nitrite residual content of commercial cooked meat products in Gansu,and assess the health risks. Methods Through the meat consumption survey about of 1 466 residents by non-continuous 3 day 24 hour review method, combined with the detection data of nitrite content in 363 commercial cooked meat products, daily nitrite exposure was obtained by simple distribution method, compared with nitrite acceptable daily intake, and the nitrite exposure risk in Gansu residents was assessed. Results Nitrite detection rate of commercial cooked meat products was 85.40% (310/363) in Gansu Province, the violation rate was 3.31% (12/363), and the average content was 7.76 mg/kg. Daily nitrite exposure from meat was 0.002 3 mg/kg BW on average, and the high exposure was 0.008 3 mg/kg BW, account for 11.86% of the acceptable daily intake. Conclusion There was no safety concerns from meat nitrite for residents in Gansu Province, but the reasonable use of nitrite in cooked meat products should be improve.