Objective To reduce postharvest spoilage of taro and improve the drying quality of taro strips.Methods Four drying methods, i.e., vacuum microwave drying (VMD), hot air drying (HAD), heat pump drying (HPD), and far-infrared radiation drying (FIRD), were used to analyze their effects on the drying characteristics, physical properties (rehydration ratio, hardness, and color difference), moisture migration and distribution, and microstructure of taro strips.Results In terms of drying efficiency, VMD demonstrated the shortest free water removal time, followed by HAD and HPD. For color performance, the L^* value followed the order HAD>HPD>FIRD>VMD. In terms of hardness, the order was VMD>FIRD>HPD>HAD, while for rehydration ratio, the sequence was FIRD>HPD>HAD>VMD. Microstructural analysis showed that VMD- and HAD-treated taro strips exhibited significant surface shrinkage and denser structures, while FIRD- and HPD-treated samples showed looser surface structures with more porous channels.Conclusion HAD-treated taro strips demonstrated superior overall quality.