Abstract: Starch is a major component of the human diet and has several hierarchies including granule, shell, blocklet, amylose and amylopectin, which can be used as the raw materials in food processing. In order to be applied in a suitable range, this involves the selection of separation methods and the accurate characterization of the structural properties of each starch hierarchy. Therefore, this paper analyzes the separation and characterization methods for each starch hierarchy, introduces their different applications, and thus provides some references for the development and utilization of starch resources.