Infrared drying characteristics and quality variations (color change, hardness, contents of polyphenol and flavonoid) of lily bulb under blanching pretreatment are investigated. Influences of parameters such as pretreatment temperature and time, and infrared drying temperature are discussed. Effective moisture diffusion coefficient, activation energy and energy consumption were calculated. The drying time was reduced by 62.5%, 56.3% and 61.5% at 90 C compared to 60 C when blanching time was 4, 5 and 6 min, respectively. A blanching time of 5 min and drying temperature of 70 C were ideal for pretreatment and drying to maintain good color quality. Hardness value of lily bulb decreased as drying temperature and blanching time increased. 70 - 80 C was ideal drying condition to maintain good hardness quality. Blanching time and drying temperature differently affected contents of flavonoids and polyphenols of lily bulb. Basically, when blanching time was relatively long and drying temperature was relatively high, the content of flavonoids and polyphenols was high. Traditional lily bulb drying methods, sun drying and fire drying, may cause browning, and hence nutritional value and appearance quality are deteriorated. Infrared drying has high drying efficiency and good preservation of nutrients, and blanching pretreatment can effectively alleviate the degree of browning. Thus infrared drying with blanching pretreatment is ideal for lily bulb drying, however, investigations are limited. This paper presents effects of pretreatment temperature, pretreatment time and infrared drying temperature on drying kinetics and quality variations to provide guidance for storage and processing of lily bulb.