Abstract: To characterize the evolution of the temperature field and morphology of the combustion cone during cigarette burning, frame-by-frame analysis of combustion-cone parameters throughout ignition, puffing, and smoldering was conducted using infrared thermographic image sequences. An effective combustion thermal moment index, ψ, was proposed to comprehensively characterize the effective heat-release intensity of the combustion cone. The results showed that: (1) During the initial stage of ignition, the maximum temperature rapidly increased to above 900 ℃, whereas the mean temperature rose relatively slowly. The combustion cone gradually developed from localized hot spots into a stable structure with a distinct temperature gradient. During puffing, the high-temperature core exhibited localized displacement and a multi-site distribution, indicating that the combustion front did not advance synchronously as a whole. During smoldering, the maximum temperature decreased from approximately 900 ℃ to approximately 750 ℃, while the mean temperature declined to approximately 550 ℃ and subsequently fluctuated within a relatively stable range. The combustion-cone length remained mainly between 11 and 13 mm. The area fraction of the high-temperature region above 600 ℃ gradually decreased, whereas that of the intermediate-temperature region between 300 and 600 ℃ increased, and the combustion front became generally stable. (2) The effective combustion thermal moment index ψ was significantly positively correlated with the area integral of temperature excess over the region above 300 ℃ (r = 0.973). During the second to fifth cycles, the mean ψ values were approximately 3,150–3,550 ℃·mm in the puffing windows and approximately 2,200–2,250 ℃·mm in the smoldering windows. These results indicate that puffing markedly enhances instantaneous combustion intensity, whereas the level of thermal maintenance remains relatively stable during smoldering. The effective combustion thermal moment index can quantify both the instantaneous thermal enhancement during puffing and the maintenance of the high-temperature core during smoldering. It also provides a comprehensive quantitative method for evaluating the thermal intensity, temperature-distribution characteristics, and stage-specific stability of the combustion cone, thereby enabling a more in-depth analysis of cigarette combustion intensity and stability.