Objective: An efficient and green method of peeling tomatoes was explored. Methods: A dry peeling method of tomatoes was carried out based on catalytic infrared equipment, and the effects of technological parameters on peeling performance and pulp quality of tomatoes were investigated and compared with traditional peeling methods of hot water and lye. Results: Infrared heating distance, temperature and time all had significant effects on the peelability and pulp quality of tomatoes. The optimum technological parameters of tomato dry peeling based on catalytic infrared was infrared heating temperature of 450 ℃, distance of 25 cm and time of 5 min. Under these conditions, the peelability of tomato was high as 98%, the firmness （7.60 g/mm²） and lycopene content （30.39 mg/kg） of pulp were the best, and the color was bright red. Compared with the traditional hot water and lye peeling methods, catalytic infrared peeling method was a dry peeling method, which was an environmentally friendly peeling method. After the catalytic infrared peeling treatment, the tomato pulp had the highest hardness, lycopene content, more red color and good pulp integrity. Catalytic infrared peeling treatment had the least effects on the microstructure of peel and flesh, but had an obvious effect on the microstructure of the connecting layer of peel and flesh, which promoted the separation of peel and flesh, indicating that the mechanism of infrared peeling was different from those of other peeling methods. Conclusion: Catalytic infrared peeling method is more suitable for tomato peeling processing and can achieve efficient peeling, green environmental protection and guarantee product quality.