Abstract: The thermal mass-loss of maleic anhydride was studied under non-isothermal conditions by thermogravimetry(TG) technique in N₂ atmosphere,and the thermal analysis kinetic equation and kinetic parameters were obtained.Under the experimental conditions,the mass-loss temperature of maleic anhydride was in a range of 110~160℃.The mass-loss rate was found greater than 98%,and the solid mass-loss products were characterized with infrared and thermogravimetry methods.Maleic anhydride gas was found as the final gas product which suggested that the thermal mass-loss of maleic anhydride was a sublimation process.The iterative iso-conversional method was applied to estimate the apparent activation energy E_a when the mass-loss rate was in a range of 0.2~0.9.The apparent activation energy was(75.147±0.48) kJ/mol which agreed with that obtained by Coats-Redfern method.It is concluded that the mass loss of maleic anhydride can be described with a single mechanism function,excluding the possibility of overlapping of multiple-step decomposition reaction.The most probable mechanism function G(α) was determined by master plots method,and G(α)=1-(1-α)^m(m=0.813 9±0.02).The pre-exponential factor A of rate equation was obtained on the basis of E_a and G(α),and the pre-exponential factor was ln(A/s^-1)=23.57±0.018.