Objective To investigate the occurrence of aflatoxins in commercially available peanut butter and sesame paste in China， and to assess the health risk associated with dietary exposure to aflatoxin B₁ （AFB₁）.Methods A total of 647 samples， including 323 peanut butter and 324 sesame paste samples， were collected from retail stores and open fairs nationwide. Aflatoxins B₁， B₂， G₁， and G₂ in peanut butter and sesame paste were determined using the isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS） method within the National Food Safety Standard Determination of Aflatoxin B and G Groups in Food （GB 5009.22—2016）. Based on national food consumption data， the dietary exposure to AFB₁ via peanut butter and sesame paste was assessed using the point assessment approach， and the margin of exposure （MOE） as well as the associated risk of hepatocellular carcinoma were estimated.Results The occurrence of total aflatoxins in peanut butter and sesame paste were 49.2% and 41.7%， respectively. The detection rates of AFB₁ were 47.4% in peanut butter and 38.3% in sesame paste， respectively， with an exceedance rate of 4.33% observed in peanut butter. The mean concentrations of AFB₁ were 4.60 μg/kg in peanut butter and 2.74 μg/kg in sesame paste， respectively. The average daily dietary exposure to AFB₁ from peanut butter and sesame paste among the general population was 2.97 ×10^-3 ng/（kg·BW）. The corresponding MOE was 134 790， and the estimated annual incidence of aflatoxin-induced liver cancer was 0.000 08 cases per 100 000 population.Conclusion Dietary exposure to aflatoxin B₁ through the consumption of peanut butter and sesame paste among the Chinese population is relatively low and the health risk is at an acceptable level.