To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the main source and route of human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), the daily intake and uptakes through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact for Shanghai residents were estimated on the basis of the PBDE concentrations in the air obtained in the present study and previous data reported in the literature. The PBDE concentrations in the gas and particle phases collected in Shanghai were 0.99-57.5 and 0.1-234 pg/m(3), respectively. The contamination levels of PBDEs in the air in Shanghai were similar to or slightly lower than the data from other regions. The estimated total daily intakes of PBDEs through the three routes were 607 and 1,636 ng/day for children and adults, respectively, while they decreased to 63.0 and 93.1 ng/day when the uptake efficiency (which is the fraction of contaminants that reaches the systemic circulation) of PBDEs was added to calculation. The results showed that dust is the main source of human exposure to PBDEs when PBDE uptake efficiency was not considered. It accounted for 66.2-79.2 % of the total PBDE intake. However, food is the main source, which accounted for 66.6-75.1 %, when the uptake efficiency was added to calculation. Among the three routes, dermal contact (53.1-76.6 %) is the main pathway, whereas ingestion (84.7-92.9 %) is the main one when the uptake efficiency was considered. Furthermore, risk assessment showed that the PBDE exposure amount would not cause obvious non-cancer and cancer risks to local residents.