Abstract: In order to accurately understand the scope and technical characteristics of research and development of heat-not-burn cigarettes in China, patents related to heat-not-burn products published by State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) from 1985 to 2016 were searched and statistically analyzed. The results showed that:1) During 1985-2016, SIPO published 972 patents related to heat-not-burn products. Among them, the proportion of patents related to electrically headed cigarettes was more than 75%, which was the major technology for heating tobacco. 2) The number of patents related to heat-not-burn products applied by Philip Morris International was the most among foreign applicants. Domestic tobacco industry had made a significant progress in this area, the total amount of patents was more than that of foreign tobacco companies and the other patent applicants. 3) The hot spots of research and development related to electrically heated cigarettes were the modification of heating section, its construction, the optimization of tobacco blending and additives, the improvement of heating effect and sensory quality. For patents related to solid fuel heated cigarettes, the hot spots of research and development were the optimization of tobacco blending and additives, the improvement of heat source technology and heating section construction, and the promotion of sensory quality and heating effect. The hot spots of research and development of patents related to physicochemical reaction heated cigarettes were the optimization of tobacco blending and additives, the modification of heating section construction and the improvement of sensory quality.