Abstract: In order to avoid the cigarette package damage caused by unstable palletizing shape piled up by cigarette cartons of different sizes, constraint conditions and target values for ideal palletizing shapes were defined. By analysis of cigarette carton size, the make-up of the order and rules of palletizing shape, an automatic palletizing algorithm for small-scale sorting line was proposed. Seven kinds of orders made up of standard cigarettes, slim cigarettes and special cigarettes were tested in Beijing Tobacco Logistics Center, the results showed that the automatic palletizing algorithm was adaptable to all the seven kinds of orders. It took no more than 1 s to pile a carton on a pallet, one parcel contained no more than 20 cartons, both the size and quantity of parcel satisfied the requirements of delivery operation. This method provides a technical support for improving the efficiency and adaptability of small-scale sorting line.