Objective To investigate the changes of volatile flavor components in Longxi cured mutton during the four stages of raw material， curing， cooking and autoclaving.Methods Longxi cured mutton was studied by electronic nose and solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （SPME-GC-MS） combined with relative odor activity value （ROAV） method.Results A total of 74 volatile flavor components were detected in Longxi cured mutton at different processing stages， with the number of species at each stage being 34， 26， 37 and 38 respectively， and the peak area ratio increased and then decreased. The curing and cooking stages were important processing stages affecting the flavor of cured mutton. ROAV analysis yielded 23 key flavor substances， with aldehydes contributing the most to the flavor formation of cured mutton， followed by hydrocarbons. 1-octen-3-ol， hexanal and nonanal were the characteristic flavor components of cured mutton. Overall， the volatile flavor components in the processing of Longxi cured mutton varied significantly during the curing and cooking periods， and aldehydes， hydrocarbons and alcohols were the main volatile species.Conclusion The experiment yielded changes in the volatile flavor components of Longxi cured mutton during processing， which could promote the development of Longxi cured mutton in modern industry regarding flavor control technology and accelerate its quality improvement and industrialization process.