Abstract: Headspace solid-phase microextraction(HS-SPME)method combined with gas chromatography-sniffing-mass spectrometry(GC-O-MS)were used among six kinds of specialty malt(high-flavour malt,biscuit malt,charcoal malt,crystal malt,chocolate malt and rye malt)to identify volatile compounds. The results showed that a total of 41 compounds were identified from special malts,including 20 aldehydes,7 pyrazines,4 alcohols,1 phenol,and 9 heterocyclic compounds. After that,the sensory evaluation method of rate that all apply(RATA)was used to score the sensory characteristic intensity of special malts. The research found that with the deepening of special malt’s colour,its sweet and fruity aroma gradually decreased,and the coffee and smoky flavour gradually increased. Correlation between special malt flavour and sensory characteristics was established by partial least squares regression(PLSR). The model reflected that the synergistic effects of different types of heterocyclic compounds explained the main flavors of chocolate malt and rye malt,and the synergistic effects of different types of pyrazine compounds explained the main flavors of biscuit malt. However,the interpretation of high flavor malt,charcoal malt,crystal malt in this model was poor,and it need to be explored in the next step.