Objective The aim of this study was to extract samples for the determination of formaldehyde using four kinds of paper packaging materials and two different extraction methods. Methods One method was to measure after cold water extraction, while the other method was to measure after hot water extraction. Results The formaldehyde content measured after hot water extraction was higher than that after cold water extraction. The formaldehyde content in nonfood packaging newspaper test samples was the highest. Conclusion The results showed that hot water extraction method had a shorter test time and the formaldehyde content measured after hot water extraction was generally higher than that measured after cold water extraction, and that the formaldehyde content in food paper packaging materials was significantly lower than those in the non-food paper packaging materials.