The complete Maillard reaction products are important sources of tobacco flavor, but there are some problems of gas diffusing and instability. In this study, six Maillard reaction intermediates of Heyns rearrangement product were prepared by using fructose as raw material. The intermediates derived from fructose and phenylalanine were identified to form the best flavor in cigarettes by sensory evaluation. The stability of the complete Maillard reaction products and intermediates derived from phenylalanine-fructose during subsequent heat treatment in aqueous solution was compared. As the heat treatment time prolonged, the aroma generated from the complete Maillard reaction product was reduced by 74.7%, while the volatile compounds from the intermediate HRP increased to 12.1 times of the unheated solution, indicating a characteristic of controlled flavor formation, which was a good way to overcome the drawback of complete Maillard reaction products in flavor enhancement during food and tobacco processing process.