Objective To establish quality representation and correlation analysis method based on the characteristic chromatograms of drag system of Aurea helianthus (Jinhuakui), so as to evaluate quality of Aurea helianthus effectively and accurately. Methods Using HPLC-PDA method to characterize the 19 characteristic peaks and their chemical types in specific chromatograms of Aurea helianthus to represent the quality of altoghther 15 batches of Aurea helianthus. The quantitative representation of the 15 batches of Aurea helianthus was based on the contents of 5 characteristic index component-chlorogenic acid, rutinum, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercetin, phenylpropionic acids (represented by chlorogenic acid) and flavonoids (represented by hyperoside). Correlation analysis of quality and quantity representations was then performed based on reference. Results Total 19 characteristic peaks (3 peaks of phenylpropionic acids and 16 peaks of flavonoids) appeared in the chromatogram of all the 15 batches. By taking Batch 1 as the reference, the total contents of the effective index components of Batch 10, 14, 8, 11, 6 and 5 were higher than the reference, and the highest correlation with the reference showed in Batch 5, 6, 3, 7, 2, 11 and 12. So the quality of Batch 5, 6, 11, 3, 7 and 2 were superio to the others. Conclusion The quality characterization correlation analysis model established for Aurea helianthus, concerning on systemic correlation and application validity, evaluated the quality of Aurea helianthus effectively and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]