Abstract: In order to establish a classification method for flue-cured tobacco leaves grown in Henan Province and to meet the requirement of "Golden Leaf " brand cigarettes, a quality gradient experiment of typical flue-cured tobacco samples from Xuchang in central Henan and Sanmenxia in west Henan was conducted to screen the key classification indexes of tobacco leaves. The work established an industrial leaf classification system, which was applied and verified. The results showed that: 1) The quality characteristics of tobacco leaves from Xuchang and Sanmenxia differed, and the leaves from different stalk positions presented different quality trends. 2) Oiliness, softness and leaf structure were the common appearance characteristics affecting the sensory quality of flue-cured tobacco in Henan, among which oiliness or softness contributed to 24.4%-61.9% of the variation of total sensory quality score. Color and body were the individual appearance characteristics affecting the sensory quality of the flue-cured tobacco from Xuchang, while that for Sanmenxai leaves was glossiness. 3) The ratio of reducing sugar to total sugar was the key chemical component index affecting the quality characteristics of tobacco leaves from Xuchang and Sanmenxia, which determined 23.9%-68.5% of the variation of oiliness and softness scores of Xuchang leaves, and contributed to 39.1%-50.5% of Sanmenxia leaves together with carbohydrate content. This leaf classification system linked the above appearance indexes of flue-cured tobacco with the scientific classification of different sensory quality.