It was intended to investigate that how hardness of chestnut shell affects the flame peeling characteristics of Korean Chestnut. Effects of the hardness on the flame peeling characteristics need to be found to establish the optimum drying conditions for chestnut of various cultivars, sizes and harvested years. The equation based on the hardness of the chestnut shells was developed. It was found that the flame peeling characteristics of the corresponding to the various drying conditions did not differ significantly to the groups with the same hardness. The flame peeling characteristics of the chestnut with the same hardness were not influenced by cultivars, size, and harvested year, The peeling ratio and the heating depth were increased by decrease of the hardness of the chestnut shells. On the other hand, the peeling ratio and the heating depth were increased as the flame temperature was increased with the same hardness. When the heating depth was limited to 2.1 mm regarding the process characteristics and the damage ratio, the proper hardness and peeling ratio of chestnut shells were 1,369.8 g/$ extrm{mm}^2$ and 83.9%, respectively, at the flame temperature of $700^{circ}C$. And also 1,517.7 g/$ extrm{mm}^2$ and 80.7% at 75$0^{circ}C$.