The objective of this study was to analyze the content of heavy metals and arsenic in soil and cereal grains as well‎as to evaluate the possible human risk in the central region of Peru. The soil samples of corn and barley grains were‎collected from seven agricultural zones and the concentrations of Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn and As were determined with the‎method of atomic absorption flame spectrophotometry. PERMANOVA showed that the effect of the type of crop‎and the sampling zone significantly influence the concentrations of heavy metals and As in soil and corn and barley‎grains (p < 0.05). PCA for heavy metals and As in soil and grain samples of the cereals studied showed that the first‎two main components represented 81.03% and 94.77% of the total variance, respectively. Hazard Quotient (HQ)‎for ingestion was the most significant. The HQ values of Pb and As in crop soils indicated that detrimental health‎effects are unlikely (HQ < 1). The soil hazard index (HI) values of both crops did not exceed the threshold value‎of 1 (HI < 1). The carcinogenic risk level (CR) of As from ingestion of corn and barley crop soils contaminated by‎As was higher in children than in farmers and adults. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) of As was higher in barley‎grains than in corn grains. The THQ of As exceeded the target value of 1 in 100% of the barley and corn sampling‎sites. The RC of As in grains exceeded the acceptable risk level of 10–6 in all sampling zones.