To investigate the accumulation patterns of chemical components in Chrysanthemum morifolium at different harvest stages by establishing high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprints and quantifying six characteristic compounds，thereby providing a basis for harvest grading and quality control.Methods:HPLC fingerprints were established for 45 batches of C.morifolium samples collected at different harvest stages from Hubei and Zhejiang provinces.The content of six characteristic compounds were determined.Similarity evaluation，principal component analysis(PCA)，and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were used for quality evaluation.Results:A total of 22 common peaks were identified in the HPLC fingerprints of the 45 batches，with similarity values ranging from 0.847 to 0.993.Eleven compounds were identified.PCA revealed that the cumulative contribution of the first four principal components was 82.551%.OPLS-DA identified 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid，4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid，chlorogenic acid，apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucoside，and luteolin-7-O-glucuronide as differential compounds.The content levels of the six characteristic compounds ranged as follows：chlorogenic acid(1.32 to 5.34 mg/g)，galuteolin(2.67 to 6.71 mg/g)，luteolin-7-O-glucuronide(3.32 to 7.59 mg/g)，3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid(7.86 to 21.01 mg/g)，apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucoside(0.92 to 4.73 mg/g)，and 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid(20.12 to 32.75 mg/g).Differences in the content levels of characteristic compounds were observed across harvest stages and geographical origins.Overall，phenolic acids were more abundant than flavonoids，and the content ratio between galuteolin and luteolin-7-O-glucuronide varied significantly between the two regions.Conclusion:The characteristic compounds were generally more abundant in flower buds than in full-bloom flowers，providing a scientific basis for the harvest grading of C.morifolium.