Abstract: To investigate the effects of pectinase on the microstructure and thermal release performance of tobacco raw materials, cut tobacco samples treated with pectinase at different concentrations were studied for their cell morphologies. The contents of some routine chemical components and pectin in the samples were determined, and the thermal release and volatile aroma component releases from the samples were analyzed. The results showed that: 1) The cell wall structure of the samples was significantly disrupted by the pectinase treatment. 2) The pectinase treatment decomposed pectin in the cell wall and increased the total sugar and reducing sugar contents of the samples. 3) The pectinase treatment affected the thermal release performance of the samples, including facilitating the releases of moisture and small molecular volatile substances and promoting the generation and releases of the aroma components such as Maillard reaction products.