Objective To clarify the best water cycle sterilization method of canned chestnut in flexible packaging， the effects of different water cycle sterilization and heat sterilization intensity （F） on the sensory quality were explored.Methods When the sterilized temperature and time were the same， the horizontal still water immersion retort， horizontal still water spray retort and horizontal still water shower retort were used to sterilize the canned chestnut in flexible packaging. The heat sterilization intensity （F） of canned chestnut in flexible packaging was calculated by General method， and the influence of different F values on the sensory quality were explored. According to the above determined F， the F in the upper and lower ranges were constructed. When the F was the same， the BALL formula method was used to calculate the sterilized temperature and time of different water cycles， and to explore the effects of different water cycles on the sensory quality.Results When the sterilized temperature and time were the same， the F of horizontal still water immersion retort was 6.2 min， the horizontal still water spray retort was 5.1 min， and the horizontal still water shower retort was 4.9 min. When the F was 5.1 min， the sensory quality evaluation of chestnut was the best. According to F=5.1 min， the ranges of heat sterilized intensity were 3， 4， 5， 6 and 7 min. When the F values were 3~5 min， the sensory quality of chestnut under the three water cycle sterilization processes was positively correlated with the F. When the F values were 5~7 min， the sensory quality of chestnut was negatively correlated with the F.Conclusion When the sterilized temperature and time were the same， the sensory quality evaluation of chestnut after water spray retort was the best. When the F was the same， the sensory quality of chestnut was the best with water spray retort， followed by water immersion retort and water shower retort. In summary， among the three water cycle sterilization process conditions， the chestnut had the best sensory quality after water spray retort.