Abstract: In order to objectively evaluate the level of grayness in cigarette ash, a quantitative method was established on the basis of average grayness values of cigarette ash by means of a Photoshop image analysis technology by taking eight cigarettes with ash of different grayness levels as experimental samples.The ash grayness levels from 50 domestic cigarette brands were determined and analyzed by the established method.The results showed that:1)The major steps of this method were sample preparation, image acquisition, image processing and data analysis.Considering the difference of ash color between different cigarettes, it was recommended to adopt "three surfaces per cigarette and three cigarettes per sample" for reflecting the ash color of a test cigarette more representatively.2) The average values of the ash grayness levels of eight tested cigarettes significantly differed.The grouping results based on multiple comparisons was basically agreed with that of visual observation.The RSDs of the measured average values of the ash grayness level ranged from 3.33% to 4.39%.The results demonstrated that this method possessed good repeatability and high sensitivity, and could effectively distinguish the ash grayness of different brand cigarettes.3)The average values of the ash grayness levels of 50 different brand cigarettes ranged from 0.280 7 to 0.391 8, which indicated that the fluctuation in the ash grayness from the different brand cigarettes, and the extent by which some cigarettes could be improved.