OBJECTIVE： To optimize the processing technology of fried Radix Paeoniae， and to provide reference for quality control of the processed products. METHODS： The content of paeoniflorin in fried Radix Paeoniae was determined by HPLC. The determination was performed on Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.05 mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution （15 ∶ 85， V/V） at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The column temperature was 30 ℃， and detection wavelength was set at 230 nm. The sample size was 10 μL. The appearance character of fried Radix Peaoniae were investigated by appearance color， crosssection color， hardness and smell. Taking the comprehensive score of appearance character and paeoniflorin content as evaluation index， the dosage， stir-frying temperature and stir-frying time were investigated. According to the results of single factor test， Box-Behnken response surface methodology was used to optimize above 3 factors. The optimized processing technology was validated. RESULTS： The linear range of paeoniflorin were 0.02-4.15 mg/mL （r＝0.999 9）； precision， stablity， repeatability and sample recovery rate meet the requirements. The optimal technology of fried Radix Paeoniae included the dosage of 374.60 g， frying temperature of 101.61 ℃， frying time of 20 min. Under optimal technology， comprehensive score of fried Radix Paeoniae ranged 97.39-98.82 in 6 times of parallel verification tests （RSD＝0.54％）， which was close to predicted value 98.18. The color of fried Radix Paeoniae was slightly deeper than Radix Paeoniae， which was crisp and fragrant. CONCLUSIONS： The optimized processing technology of fried Radix Paeoniae is stable and feasible， and is suitable for the preparation of the processed products.