Objective To analyze the cadmium level in main food, and assess the risk of dietary exposure of residents in Guangxi. Methods The cadmium content in 39 kinds of food was analyzed statistically from 2013 to 2018. The cadmium exposure was estimated by combining the concentration of cadmium in foods with food consumption data. According to provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI), the health risk was assessed by simple distribution model. Results The average content of cadmium in 39 kinds of food was 0.086 mg/kg. The total detection rate and violation rate were 67.37%(17 025/25 271) and 5.68%(1 435/25 271), respectively. The average content of cadmium in algae food was 0.769 mg/kg, which was the highest among the 39 food groups being tested. The main source of cadmium exposure was rice, which contributed 52.57% to the total dietary cadmium exposure. The monthly average cadmium exposure of residents in Guangxi was 30.62 μg/kg BW, accounted for 122.48% of PTMI. Conclusion The average dietary cadmium exposure was higher than PTMI and should be paid more attention to. Rice is the main grain in southern China and has high contribution to dietary cadmium exposure of residents. It is necessary to strengthen the research on cadmium pollution of rice from farm to plate and control the source of pollution.