This study was carried out to examinate the effect of aging period on chromatic, chemical and organoleptic characteristics, and to evaluate of optimum aging period for each grade in burley leaf tobacco. The leaf tobaccos were produced in 2000, and threshed, redried and packed in carton box under the current methods. Four grades of processed leaf(A3T, B1T, C1W and D3W) were stored during 24 months (May 10, 2001 to April 31, 2003) in warehouse of Chungju Leaf Tobacco Processing Factory. The leaf tobaccos were sampled at three month intervals for analysis of chromatic, chemical and organoleptic properties. pH values of four grades, and Yellow(b) of A3T and BIT were also significantly decreased during the aging. Filling values, tar, nicotine and CO contents of tobacco smoke, and puff number of cigarettes were not significantly changed during the aging. Positive correlation coefficients were significantly observed between irritation of the calculated attributes from contents of volatile oil components in leaf tobacco and that of the panel sensory attributes. The ratio of maximum change in irritation attribute was larger than that in taste attribute during aging. The calculated irritations of 18～24 months aging for A3T and B1T were significantly lower than zero-aging, while those of C1W and D3W were not significant among aging periods. The panel irritations of 12～15 months aging for four grades were low tendency. The results suggest that decrease of aging period for thin leaf from 21～24 to 12～15 months may be beneficial to save storage cost in burley tobacco.