Abstract: This study analyzed the change of bitter and astringent taste compound content, such as tannin, flavonoid, oxalic acid and amino acid in the bamboo shoot of Dendrocalamus latiflorus under different light intensities. The results indicated that the content of tannin, flavonoid and amino acid all decreased as the decline of light intensity. The amount of oxalic acid increased initially and deceased later as the reduction of light intensity. Under the same light intensity, the taste was much better in the basal part of bamboo shoot than that of the top one. The shoot concentration of tannin and amino acid spaciously peaked at the top, i.e. 1.8-3.4 and 1.4-3.4 times higher than those at the bottom respectively. In contrast, the content of flavonoid in the shoot decreased 29.4%-60.2% less than that in the shoot bottom. The oxalic acid content declined in order from the middle, top to the bottom part. In conclusion, the bamboo shoot of D. latiflorus behaves the most bitter and astringent taste in natural sun light. The bitter and astringent taste compounds are mostly concentrated at the top of the shoot. It is proved that lessening light intensity can improve edible taste of bamboo shoot of D. latiflorus.