Objective To study the effect of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) on brain injury of pediatric occupants in buses. Methods The bus AEB test scene was developed by using Prescan software. The deceleration curve under the bus AEB condition at initial speed of 60 km / h was obtained by the simulation method. Based on the validated finite element (FE) bus model and the mixed FE model of a 6-year-old child with detailed anatomic head structure, four typical seating positions in the bus were selected, and the head injury of pediatric occupants seated in these positions with and without AEB conditions was simulated with LS-DYNA software. The craniocerebral injury of pediatric occupants was analyzed by using HIC15 of pediatric occupants, pressure at gray matter of the brain, von Mises stress and shear stress of brain tissues as the injury evaluation indicators. Results In simulation test of each group, when the baffle was set in front of Positions 1 and 2, the pressure at gray matter of the brain for pediatric occupants exceeded its injury threshold, while various injury indicators of pediatric occupants at other positions were far smaller than the corresponding injury thresholds. Conclusions The AEB can effectively reduce head impact injury severity of pediatric occupants in buses. The pediatric occupants at Position 3 in the bus are prone to a higher impact head injury risk. The billboard baffle set at Positions 1 and 2 in the bus can increase the head injury risk of pediatric occupants