Abstract: In order to investigate the feasibility of characterizing the length of storage period with polyphenol content,the contents of six polyphenols(chlorogenic acid,neochlorogenic acid,scopoline,scopoletin,rutin and kaempferol glycoside) in 22 representative tobacco leaf samples were determined by high performance liquid chromatography,and the variation of polyphenol content during storage was analyzed.The results showed that:1) The total amount of the 6 polyphenols in leaves stored for one year increased by 54.6%,and the content of each polyphenol changed obviously.2) After storing for 2-3 years,the scopoline content decreased significantly,while the variation of the other polyphenol contents was not significant.3) The variation of each polyphenol content in leaves from different stalk positions with the duration of storage period presented similar trend.The variation trend of polyphenol content could be used as a reference for determining the optimal storage period of tobacco leaves.