To investigate the quality characteristics of kimchi around Masan area, home made and commercial kimchi samples were collected from December 1994 to June 1995. The weight of a head of Chinese cabbage was 3.0kg after purchasing and reduced to 2.36kg after salting. Home made kimchi showed a little higher pH and titratable acidity than those of commercial kimchi in winter. Salt concentration of home made kimchi in winter was 3.69%, and higher than that of commercial kimchi. Color of home made kimchi was higher in L, a and b than that of commercial kimchi in winter and spring. The pH of commercial kimchi was lower about 0.3 than that of home made kimchi in spring. Home made kimchi in spring showed about 0.3% higher salt concentration than that of commercial kimchi.