Abstract: To explore the differences in sensory quality of heated cigarettes made from different positions of flue-cured tobacco and the sources for the differences, the pyrolytic products and chemical components were determined and their relationships with sensory quality were analyzed with the imitation samples of national standards of flue-cured tobacco from different positions in Chenzhou, Hunan Province. The results showed that the heated cigarettes made from the middle leaves had the best sensory quality, but there was no significant difference from that from the lower leaves. The content of alkaloids in pyrolytic aerosols of flue-cured tobacco raw materials from the upper leaves was the highest; The total aroma components of furans, aldehydes and ketones and organic acids were the highest in the middle tobacco leaves; The total content of the phenolic aroma components in the pyrolytic aerosol of the powder of the lower leaves was the highest, but there was no significant difference with the middle leaves. The content of total alkaloids and total nitrogen in leaves were significantly correlated with strength and the correlation coefficients reached 0.892 and 0.837 respectively; Except for strength, all sensory indexes increased with the increase of total sugar, reducing sugar and potassium content. The pyrolytic products of flue-cured tobacco leaves had the most significant correlation with the irritation of heated cigarettes, and the correlation with aroma, quality grade and total score were relatively weak. The pyrolytic products except esters, alkaloids, stearic acid and 2,3’- bipyridine had basically the same contribution to the sensory quality, and all had a positive correlation with the sensory indicators except strength.