Objective This study aimed to develop an ion chromatography-pulse amperometry (IC-PAD) technique for the identification and quantification of cyanide in Chinese liquor. Methods The real samples from local markets were diluted to 1∶10 with ultrapure water before being injected to IC-PAD. Potassium hydroxide(12 mmol/L)was introduced for gradient elution. Silver electrode was utilized with Ag/AgCl composite reference electrode mode. Three potential wave forms were also involved in the study. Results This method showed good linear responses ranging from 5 to 200 μg/L with satisfactory linear correlation coefficient of 0.999 9. The limit of detection (LOD) was 3.5 μg/L, and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 9.5 μg/L in Chinese liquor samples. For different types of Chinese liquor, the recoveries of cyanide in fortified samples (10,30, 50 μg/L) were from 91.7% to 102.0%. The intra-day relative standard deviation (RSD) was from 2.2% to 4.8%, and the inter-day RSD ranged from 1.5% to 1.9%. The comparison between this proposed method and the GB 5009.36-2016 method showed no statistical difference (P>0.05). Conclusion This technique was performer-friendly and exhibited high reliability and accuracy, which was suitable for the detection of cyanide in real samples.