Abstract: The contents of carotenoid and its degradation products were determined by HPLC and GC/MS, respectively. The results showed that: 1)The contents of lutein,β-carotene and carotenoid increased with the darkening of leaf color,decreased with the increase of leaf maturity and oil,and reduced with the increase of color intensity (except for Ninghua cutters). 2)The highest contents of degradation products would be in golden-yellow Jiaxian leaf,light reddish-brown Ninghua leaf and pure yellow Yiliang leaf. The contents of degradation product decreased with the increase of leaf oil and were higher in mature leaves than in unripe and overmature leaves. 3)In golden-yellow Jiaxian leaf,light reddish-brown Ninghua leaf and pure yellow Yiliang leaf,particularly in those leaves of proper maturity,rich oil,strong color intensity'carotenoid degraded more adequately than in other samples. The appearance indexes in the order of their effects on carotenoid content were color >color intensity >oil >maturity,in the order of their effects on degradation products were color > maturity >oil,the influence of color intensity varied with leaf origins.