The present database contains the harmonised results of investigations on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood caught from FAO fishing divisions 37.1.3 (Sardinia), 37.2.1 (Adriatic) and 37.2.2 (Ionian), in Western and Central Mediterranean Sea. Of the 10,704 records included in the database, 5790 were extracted from a database on contaminants in Mediterranean biota available at https://www.emodnet-chemistry.eu/data (accessed on 01/12/2021), while the other 4,914 come from 38 scientific publications from peer-reviewed journals. The database was compiled along the lines of the work of Cinnirella and colleagues (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.899723) on mercury concentration in Mediterranean biota. The following parameters have been retrieved when available: Country; Location; FAO fishing division; Sea where sampling took place; Latitude; Longitude; Taxonomic class; Taxonomic order; Taxonomic Family; Species scientific name; Species common name; Marine habitat; Trophic level; Sampling depth; Sample length; Sample weight; Age; Sex; Sampled tissue; PAH analysed; Molecular weight of analysed PAHs; Origin of analysed PAHs; Tissue water content; Mean PAH concentration; Minimum PAH concentration; Maximum PAH concentration; Sample size; Sampling period; Sampling date; Sampling season; State of the organism; Reference source; Sampling year. Moreover, two health risk indexes were calculated for each record, based on FAOSTAT data on seafood consumption in Italy (FAOSTAT, 2017), and included in the database
