Abstract: In order to enlarge the design concept in product development,the routine chemical components,polyacids,higher fatty acids,polyphenols,amino acids,pH of smoke particulate matter,humectants,and preservatives in five international and six domestic top brands of cigarette were determined,and the chemical characteristics and make-up of imported cigarettes were discussed on the basis of the test results.It was found that:1)the contents of total sugar and reducing sugar in domestic cigarettes were higher than those in imported cigarettes by about 10 percentage points,while total nitrogen content in domestic cigarettes was lower;2)the contents of total potassium,total chlorine,protein and volatile base in imported cigarettes were higher,and the contents of citric and oxalic acids were obviously higher than those in domestic ones;3)malic acid content in imported cigarette No.4 and No.5 was the lowest,while in imported brand series A was similar to that in domestic ones;4)oleic(linoleic and linolenic)acid content in imported cigarettes was below 5.8 mg/g,while in domestic ones was over 7 mg/g;5)the content ratio of malic acid to citric acid of domestic cigarettes was about 7,while that of imported ones was in the range of 2.13 to 5.14;6)polyphenols content in imported cigarettes was obviously lower,while total amino acids content was obviously higher than that in domestic ones;7)pH values of smoke particulate matter of imported cigarettes were obviously higher than those of domestic ones except for imported brand A No.1;8)propylene glycol(PG)was detectable in all samples,its content in imported brand series A ranged from 3.71 to 16.44 μg/g,while in imported cigarette No.4 and No.5,domestic cigarette No.2 and No.3,it was over 1 mg/g;9)glycerol was detectable in imported cigarette No.4 and No.5 and domestic cigarette No.4,however,in the two imported cigarettes,its content was obviously higher;10)sorbic acid was only detectable in 4 domestic cigarettes;11)benzoic acid and phenylacetic acid were detectable in all the samples except for domestic cigarette No.2 and No.3,and their contents in imported cigarette No.4 and No.5 were obviously higher.The conclusion was that:1)PG,benzoic and phenylacetic acids were applied in most of the cigarette samples,and 2)burley and sun-cured tobacco leaves were probably included in imported cigarette blend.