In order to fill the gap of water quality criteria for human health and supplement the water quality criteria system in China，water quality criteria for the protection of human health were deduced by using the exposure factors of our country and the relevant parameters quoted from deriving the water quality criteria in the United States，in which the water quality criteria of arsenic，PCBs and benzo （a） pyrene were derived from linear formula of carcinogen when the water quality criteria of mercury and nickel were derived by formula of non-carcinogen. The water quality criteria based on exposure factor of our country of mercury，nickel，arsenic，benzopyrene and PCBs are 0.028μg/L，374μg/L，0.011μg/L，0.003μg/L and 0.000033μg/L，respectively. Owing to the difference of water quality，exposure factors of Chinese population and exposure conditions，the water quality criteria of China is different from that of USA，Japan，EU and WHO. The water quality criteria derived in this paper can basically represent the environmental exposure characteristics of Chinese population，and can be used as a reference for relevant departments and researches before authoritative data are available.