Abstract:This study investigated quality variations among different wax gourd varieties and screened cultivars suitable for processing by conducting comprehensive quality assessments on 17 wax gourd varieties from Guangdong Province through 21 indices across five dimensions：physicochemical properties，antioxidant capacity，textural characteristics，chromatic parameters，and flavor components. By using the principal component analysis method，combined with the processing characteristics of liquid and solid wax gourd products，the evaluation models for the processing suitability of liquid and solid wax gourd products were respectively constructed. The results indicated that the quality differences of different wax gourd varieties were mainly reflected in the sugar-acid ratio，DPPH radical scavenging rate，hardness，a*value，and terpenoids，sulfocompound contents with variation coefficients of 0.42，0.41，0.29，0.61 and 0.25，respectively.The top three wax gourd varieties suitable for processing into liquid products are Linong Black，Orange，and Small Wax Gourd（A11），Linong Black，Small，and Fat Wax Gourd（A12），and Linong No. 2 Taro Pink Skin Wax Gourd（A13）. Among them，A11 had the best comprehensive performance，with a soluble solid content of 4.60%，a polyphenol content of 3.32 mg GAE/g，and a juice yield of 75.33%.It featured high juice yield and high nutritional value. The top three wax gourd varieties suitable for processing into solid products are Huayu（A16），A11，and A12. Among them，A16 had the best comprehensive performance with a hardness of 521.41 g，chewability of 986.73 g·s，and crude fiber content of 0.56 g/100 g.It had good tissue structure and processing characteristics.