Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), the most deadly agent of malaria, is only acquired after years of repeated infections and appears to wane rapidly without ongoing exposure. Antibodies (Abs) are central to malaria immunity, yet little is known about the B‐cell biology that underlies Pf‐specific humoral immunity. To address this gap in our knowledge we carried out a year‐long prospective study of the acquisition and maintenance of long‐lived plasma cells (LLPCs) and memory B cells (MBCs) in 225 individuals aged two to twenty‐five years in Mali, in an area of intense seasonal transmission. Using protein microarrays containing approximately 25% of the Pf proteome we determined that Pf‐specific Abs were acquired only gradually, in a stepwise fashion over years of Pf exposure. Pf‐specific Ab levels were significantly boosted each year during the transmission season but the majority of these Abs were short lived and were lost over the subsequent six month period of no transmission. Thus, we observed only a small incremental increase in stable Ab levels each year, presumably reflecting the slow acquisition LLPCs. The acquisition Pf‐specific MBCs mirrored the slow step‐wise acquisition of LLPCs. This slow acquisition of Pf‐specific LLPCs and MBCs was in sharp contrast to that of tetanus toxoid (TT)‐specific LLPCs and MBCs that were vi vi rapidly acquired and stably maintained following a single vaccination in individuals in this cohort. In addition to the development of normal MBCs we observed an expansion of atypical MBCs that are phenotypically similar to hyporesponsive FCRL4+ cells described in HIV‐infected individuals. Atypical MBC expansion correlated with cumulative exposure to Pf, and with persistent asymptomatic Pf‐infection in children, suggesting that the parasite may play a role in driving the expansion of atypical MBCs. Collectively, these observations provide a rare glimpse into the process of the acquisition of human B cell memory in response to infection and provide evidence for a selective deficit in the generation of Pf‐specific LLPCs and MBCs during malaria. Future studies will address the mechanisms underlying the slow acquisition of LLPCs and MBCs and the generation and function of atypical MBCs.