Abstract: In order to reveal the key factors influencing the aerosol release characteristics of tobacco heated at low temperatures, the effects of temperature, glycerol content, tobacco type and primary air supply on the aerosol yield and starting time were investigated using a test system combining a steady-state tube furnace with an aerosol density gauge. In addition, a combination of the steady-state tube furnace with a cascade impactor was chosen to evaluate the role of glycerol in aerosol size distribution. The results showed that:1) With the increase of glycerol content in tobacco, there was a linear reduction in the aerosol starting time, and the aerosol yield displayed a linear increase with a broader aerosol particle size distribution. 2) Aerosol yield was raised for glycerol-free tobacco when temperature was lowered or primary air supply increased. For glycerol-containing tobacco, the increase of primary air supply effectively increased aerosol release, however, this trend increased firstly and then decreased with the rise of temperature. A high heating temperature(500℃) resulted in tobacco combustion and glycerol had a significant synergistic effect. 3) Both the rise of temperature and the increase of glycerol content effectively reduced the response time of aerosol release, and glycerol promoted the temperature sensitivity of the response time of aerosol release. 4) The physicochemical characteristics of different type tobaccos differed, which resulted in the differences of aerosol yield and aerosol starting time.