In order to provide the basic data for further risk assessment, the levels of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in the commercial aquatic products of Guangdong were investigated.Methods Simple random sampling method was employed to determine the sample size, and 60 aquatic products were collected in each of the 21 cities and Shunde District, Guangdong Province. The concentrations of Pb and Cd were measured using GB 5009.12-2010 and GB/T 5009.15-2003, respectively. Results A total of 1 326 aquatic products were collected from 2010 to 2014. The mean level of Pb in aquatic products was 0.040 mg/kg, and the over-limit rate was 0.15% (2/1 326). The average level of Cd in aquatic products was 0.178 mg/kg, and the over-limit rate was 5.35% (71/1 326). During this five years, the small variation of the over-limit rate of Pb was found in the aquatic products, while the difference was significant for Cd (P＜0.05). For the variety of aquatic products, only freshwater fish was fully qualified, and the descending order of the over-limit rate was crab＞shellfish＞shrimp＞marine fish. The single factor pollution index (Pi) showed that the levels of Pb and Cd in the aquatic products were in the range of the background value except for the levels of Cd in shellfish and crab, while the order of heavy metal pollution index (MPI) was crab＞shellfish＞marine fish＞shrimp＞freshwater fish.Conclusion The contamination levels of Pb and Cd in aquatic products were not high, but the over-limit rate of Cd in crab could not be ignored.