A new flue-cured variety zhongyan103 was developed by systematic selection from a mutant of honghua dajinyuan. The genetic traits of zhongyan103were stable and the plants grew uniformly and strongly in field. It was easier to cure than honghua dajinyuan. Zhongyan103 was resistant to TMV, CMV and PVY,moderately resistant to black shank, moderately susceptible to root knot nematode, susceptible to bacterial wilt and brown spot, yet less susceptible to tobacco weather fleck. Its main economic characters were better than the check(NC89, K326 or honghua dajinyuan). The cured leaves were mainly in orangecolor, oily to rich in gummy, with loose structure, medium body, strong to deep colour intensity. Zhongyan103 demonstrated better appearance quality thanK326, and favorable chemical components in harmonious proportion, with higher contents of reducing sugar and potassium, yet lower contents of nicotine andtotal nitrogen. With consistent sensory quality to K326, Zhongyan103 was good in quality, yield and disease resistance, and featured similar flavor notes tohonghua dajinyuan. It passed the Chinese tobacco variety evaluation in 2007.