This paper examines the relationship between childhood left-behind experience and household risky financial asset investment. Based on the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data, we find that the childhood left-behind experience raises both the probability and the share of household risky financial asset investment by enhancing personal material aspiration. Moreover, the left-behind experience depresses household investment returns by depleting human capital accumulation. The heterogeneity analyses tell us that the rural, low-age and low-income households seem to be affected more by left-behind experience. Our evidence further suggests that enhancing information accessibility and financial resource availability constitutes a critical pathway to mitigate the adverse impact of left-behind experience on household investment outcomes. Our key results are robust to a series of sensitivity checks. Our study sheds light on the far-reaching influence of personal experience on households' well-being from the perspective of portfolio choice.