Abstract: To reveal the relationship between cold storage effect of citrus fruit and peel surface structure，wax content and chemical composition，this study took the mature fruits of‘Shatangju’mandarin（Citrus reticulata）as study materials，collected into plastic film microporous fresh-keeping bags，and stored under （14.2 ± 2.8）℃ natural room temperature（the control）and（6.5 ± 0.5）℃ refrigerated warehouse temperature （cold storage）for 90 d，respectively. During storage，peel surface structure，wax content and composition，flavor quality，water loss and decay indexes of the fruits were analyzed periodically. The results showed that the peel wax of‘Shatangju’mandarin fruits stored under room temperature was degraded rapidly，and peel surface structure changed significantly，whereas the peel wax and surface structure of fruits stored under cold temperature was well protected. Cold storage significantly inhibited the reduction of peel wax of‘Shatangju’mandarin，especially the reduction of long-chain aliphatic alcohol，branched paraffin，olefin，and olefin aldehyde；the soluble sugar and organic acid contents and sugar-acid ratio were kept relatively stable. Cold storage reduced the odorous substances ethanol and acetaldehyde contents of‘Shatangju’mandarin，inhibited membrane lipid peroxidation and increase of cell membrane permeability，and effectively reduced the fruit weight loss and decay.

Key words: mandarin, cold storage preservation, peel, micro-morphological structure, wax