Abstract: The objectives of this study were to analyse the skin color,water holding capacity,shear force,texture profile analysis(TPA),ultrastructure,in vitro digestibility and relative sensory evaluation of soft-boiled chicken prepared by hot fresh(15℃,stored for 1,2,4 h)and chilled chicken(0~4℃,stored for 24,36,48,60 h)and to discuss whether it was feasible to use chilled or frozen chicken to replace hot fresh chicken to make this dish. Results showed that there were no significant differences in water holding capacity and sensory evaluation among hot fresh and chilled treatments(p>0.05). Hot fresh 1 h treatment had significantly higher L^* value(p<0.05)than the other treatments while b^* value had no significant difference(p>0.05).There also were no significant differences in hardness,springiness,cohesiveness,resilience among all treatments(p>0.05),but chewiness of hot fresh 1 h treatment was significantly lower than hot fresh 4 h,chilled 24 h and 60 h treatments(p<0.05). Chilled treatments had relative lower shear force and shorter fiber diameter than hot fresh treatments so that they had better tenderness. Chilled 48,60 h treatments had significantly higher digestibility than all the three hot fresh treatments(p<0.05)and the digestibility of chilled treatments were relatively higher than hot fresh treatments. The results showed that soft-boiled chicken made from chilled chicken had similar or better qualities than that made from hot fresh chicken. So it was feasible to use chilled chicken to replace hot fresh chicken to make this dish and this paper provided a basis for commercial processing of the soft-boiled chicken.