In this study，the pyrolysis vapors of asparagine under different pyrolytic conditions were analyzed by analytical pyrolysis/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(Py/GC-MS).In addition，by using the amide 15N labeled asparagine sample and analysis of label incorporation of the major nitrogen contained compounds，the influence of pyrolysis conditions on the formation pathways of the major pyrolysis products of asparagine were elucidated.The results indicated that pyrolysis temperature has a significant impact on the decomposition of asparagine.The yields of major products at low and high temperature are strikingly different.The yields of maleimide and succinimide，which are the predominant pyrolysis products of asparagine，increased strikingly as the pyrolysis temperature increased from 300 ℃ to 600 ℃，while in contrast，from 600 ℃ to 900 ℃，the peak area of maleimide increased slowly but succinimide starts to decrease.The yields of amides and acidic compounds increased monotonically with the increase of the pyrolysis temperature，and the formation of nitriles and pyrroles were favored at higher heating temperatures.Furthermore，pyrolysis temperature has a significant effect on the formation pathways of the major pyrolysis products of asparagine.Most of the nitrogen in maleimide and acetamide originate from the 15N-labeled amide group of asparagine at low temperature，while from the unlabeled amino group at high temperature.The nitrogen atoms of the three nitrile compounds，hydrogen cyanide，acetonitrile and acrylonitrile are mainly from the unlabeled amino group，especially at higher temperature.By contrast，the influences of pyrolysis atmosphere and time on the yields and formation pathways of the major products of asparagine are much less.