Abstract: Objective:The aim of this study was to find a efficient and faster way for the determination of main spicy ingredients in dishes through optimizing the detection chromatographic condition according to GB/T21266-2007. Taking a part of Zhejiang dishes that collected from Shaoxing,Hangzhou,Ningbo and Wenzhou as the experimental subject,detecting spicy ingredients in each dish,then analyzed the piquancy characteristics of Zhejiang dishes. Method:Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were extracted by ultrasonic with methanol-tetrahydrofuran( 1 ∶ 1) as solvent, high performance liquid chromatography( HPLC) was used to analyze capsaicinoid compounds. Result:The mobile phase was methanol:water(70∶30) with the flow rate was 0.8 m L/min and the UV detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. The regression equation of capsaicin was Y =6636.7X +1221 and correlation coefficient R2=0.9999. The regression equation of dihydrocapsaicin was Y=6338.9X-3758 and correlation coefficient R2=0.9999. The proportion of the use chili in Zhejiang 100 dishes was 13%,the spicy degree of whole dishes was 0.143. Conclusion:This method was accurate,speedy and reproducible.Pungency level in Zhejiang dishes was low.