With the purpose of providing theoretical basis for further processing and utilization of Chinese chestnut, the microwave-vacuum drying characteristics and the optimum process parameters of chestnut were investigated. The effects of microwave intensity and chamber pressure on the mass and heat transfer in the drying process of chestnut were studied. The microwave power, pressure and drying time were optimized using Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology for achieving minimum moisture content and maximum whiteness value. The results showed that the microwave-vacuum drying process of chestnut slices was mainly divided into acceleration and deceleration stages, and the constant velocity phase was shorter. Both microwave power and vacuum degree had a significant influence on the drying time, the higher the power, the higher vacuum, the faster the drying rate was. The dry moisture content and moisture ratio decreased gradually with the extension of drying time of Chinese chestnut. The optimum process parameters of microwave-vacuum drying of chestnut were obtained by regression model, with the time of 12 min, the pressure of -56 kPa and the power of 3 kW. The microwave power, chamber pressure and drying time had a significant influence on the quality of drying Chinese chestnut by Microwave-vacuum. The drying parameters obtained from drying-mode ensure the edible value of Chinese chestnut with high efficiency and low energy consumption.