Abstract: In order to scientifically evaluate the health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure in farmland soil to adults, the contamination characteristics of 16 priority control PAHs were investigated and analyzed in the surface soil of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. The health risk assessment process was optimized by modifying the model parameters, incorporating PAHs bioaccessibility, and applying Monte Carlo simulation technology, and then the influence of traditional methods and probabilistic methods on the health risk assessment was explored. The results showed that the average content of Σ₁₆PAHs in the soil was 1 309.77±4 995.87 μg/kg, and 62.22% of the survey sites were polluted with PAHs, among which the high-ring (4~6 rings) PAHs were dominant. Traditional health risk assessments showed that the total non-carcinogenic hazard index (THI) and total carcinogenic hazard index (THQ) were 1.40×10⁻⁴ and 5.51×10⁻⁶, respectively, which may be an overestimation of the actual risk. The results of the probabilistic risk assessment showed that the THI was significantly reduced by two orders of magnitude (THI_95%=8.71×10⁻⁶) compared with the traditional method, and the total carcinogenic risk also decreased to an almost negligible level (THQ_95%=2.06×10⁻⁷). After considering the bioaccessibility of PAHs, the health risk of the oral ingestion route was significantly reduced, and the 95% quantile values of THI and THQ decreased to 4.31×10⁻⁶ and 7.86×10⁻⁸, with a decrease of 50.52% and 61.84%, respectively. In addition, the sensitivity analysis further revealed that the content of monomers BaP and Phe, exposure years, and soil intake rates were key factors influencing health risks.