The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between bitterness and amygdalin content. Sensory evaluation was conducted with quinine as the standard to evaluate the debitterized apricot kernels (debitteriizng temperature 70 ℃, solid-to-liquid ratio 1∶12, debittering time 6 h), and a certain samples were taken every 30 minutes. Then the sensory evaluation was performed on each sample and the content of amygdalins in samples was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the content of amygdalin in bitter apricot kernels was positively correlated with the bitterness by sensory evaluation. After debitterizing of 5 hours in hot water, the content of amygdalin in the apricot kernels was as low as 0.91 mg/g, and the bitterness level of sample was reduced to the grade Ι, with no bitterness. Based on these results, we can conclude that the content of the amygdalin in apricot kernels is closely related to the bitterness of sensory taste. The degree of the bitterness can be evaluated by the residue content of amygdalin determined by HPLC in the apricot kernels during the bitterizing,. which can provide a theoretical base for rapid monitoring the bitterizing in the apricot kernels processing.