Abstract: In order to study the influence of drying temperature on quality and protein degradation during storage of air-dried beef,the beef of Xinjiang was used as the raw material and was dried at different drying temperatures(30℃,50 h;40℃,20 h;50℃,12 h;60℃,8 h),cooled,vacuum packaged,and then preserved in refrigerator at -4℃(0,3,6,9,15,21 d)to study the effects of drying temperature on quality protein degradation. The results showed that,with the prolongation of storage time,the moisture content at different temperatures gradually decreased(p<0.05);the cooking loss rate increased first and then decreased gradually,and then gradually increased;and at different drying temperatures,the water content and cooking loss rate both were 30℃>40℃>50℃>60℃(p<0.05);At the end of storage,dried beef samples at 50℃ had the highest odor,mouthfeel,and overall acceptability;60℃ had the lowest taste,flavor and overall receptivity(p>0.05);elasticity did not change significantly during the entire storage period(p>0.05). The carbonyl content of myofibrillar protein was significantly increased(p<0.05)with the trend of maximum increase at 60℃;the total sulfhydryl content was significantly decreased(p<0.05),among which the decreasing trend was greatest at 60℃. The result of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE)showed that the degradation of myofibrillar protein bands at 30,40,50℃enhanced on the 15th day of storage,while the protein degradation was enhanced at 60℃ on the 9th day. To sum up,when the drying temperature was 50℃,the degradation degree of protein was lower,which could better maintain the quality of air-dried beef in the whole storage period of air-dried beef.