Steaming and boiling, the two main methods to cook Chinese mitten crab（Eriocheir sinensis）, were investigated, started from hot water and cold water respectively. In order to screen optimal cooking method, the content of free amino acid, nucleotide and astaxanthin in edible parts as well as head shell were compared among crabs cooked in four condition, i.e. steaming with cold and hot water respectively and boiling with cold and hot water respectively. The results showed that the total free amino acids content and the total umami amino acids in muscle and gonad, and astaxanthin content in head shell of crab cooked with hot water were significantly higher than that cooked with cold water (P ＜ 0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that cooking condition influenced the redness and sweetness of edible parts significantly (P ＜ 0.05), with most redness observed in gonad and hepatopancreas of crab cooked by steaming with cold water, and more sweetness noticed in gonad of crab cooked with hot water. However, in general, steaming with hot water obtained the highest score in sensory evaluation. These results suggested it was optimal to cook crabs by steaming with hot water.