Abstract: To research the influence of clearance in kinetic pairs on cigarette transfer performance, a clearance inclusive cam-swinging link mechanism was built for transfer drum on the basis of a continuous contact model, and its kinematics was analyzed by referring to Lagrange equation. Via system simulation, the deviations of relative displacement, relative velocity and relative accelerated velocity between the rod passage center of the moving catcher and the center of the suction carriers on the spider were obtained in the presence or absence of clearance. The results showed that: 1) The clearance in kinetic pairs affected the kinetic characteristics of the mechanism greatly, the deviations mentioned above fluctuated more drastically with the increase of clearance; while with the decrease of the clearance, the kinetic characteristics of the system increasingly approached to an ideal mechanism, cigarettes would be transferred more smoothly. 2) Raising machining precision and matching precision could reduce clearance in kinetic pairs and the fluctuation caused by impact. 3) Using anti-abrasive material and raising the surface quality in friction pairs would reduce the wear of moving parts. Taking into account the clearance in kinetic pairs could truly reflect the kinetic characteristics of the cam-swinging link mechanism in the transfer drum, accurately predict the transfer performance of the mechanism, and promote the stability of cigarette transfer system.