Abstract: To clarify the relationship between free amino acids and sensory quality of flue-cured tobacco, middle and upper tobacco leaves of different quality characteristics were collected from three tobacco-planting areas (western Fujian, eastern Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan) in two consecutive years. Classification by growing area, production year and stalk position, and the correlations between the contents and compositions of free amino acids and sensory quality scores were analyzed. The results showed that:1) The contents of twelve free amino acids (including aromatic amino acids, alkaline amino acids, amide amino acids, Glu in acid amino acids, Ala and Gly in aliphatic amino acids, Ser in hydroxyl amino acids and γ-aminobutyric acid in non-protein amino acids) were consistently negatively correlated to the sensory quality. 2) The proportions of alkaline amino acids and aromatic amino acids in total contents of free amino acids were consistently negatively correlated to, and Pro proportion positively correlated to the sensory quality. There was a strong correlation between free amino acids and sensory quality of tobacco from fresh flavor type tobacco-planting areas, which indicated a good application prospect in the evaluation of tobacco quality.