Abstract: In order to find potential heating sources for heat-not-burn tobacco products, starch-based hydrothermal carbon (HTC-S), bamboo charcoal and pine wood charcoal were experimented. Their surface microstructures, chemical compositions, micro-crystallite structure, combustion characteristics and kinetic parameters at the presence of air were studied with scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis separately. The results indicated that:1) HTC-S had the lowest graphitization degree, wood charcoal had the highest. With the increase of graphitization degree, the thermal mass loss of charcoal shifted towards a higher temperature region. 2) The ignition point (270℃) and burnout point (535℃) of HTC-S were relatively lower, which enabled it to be used as an ignition fuel in a heating unit. With higher ignition and burnout temperatures, pine wood charcoal and bamboo charcoal showed better burning retention. 3) For HTC-S, significant mass loss happened in the region of 200℃-350℃, where the combustion reaction kinetic was dominated by chemical reaction order of 1.5. However, above 350℃, the combustion processes were in compliance with the 3-D diffusion model.