Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons（PAHs） exist widely in the environment. For non-occupationally workers and nonsmokers， more than 70% exposure to PAHs arise from the diet, and diet may cause more than 90% of total PAHs exposure of general population in different countries. Since the International Agency for Research on Cancer （IARC） classified red meat and its processed meat products as carcinogens in 2015， it is particularly important to reduce the generation of toxic and harmful substances（eg. PAHs） in processed meat products. According to the research status of PAHs in processed meat products， this paper summarized the carcinogenic mechanism， formation mechanism， exposure in processed meat products and control measures.