In order to simplify the headphone equalization processing in headphone- presented virtual auditory re-plays,the minimum- phase approximation of headphone- to- ear canal transfer functions (HpTFs) was analyzed andevaluated.In the investigation,first,HpTFs for 20 human subjects and three types of headphones were repeatedlymeasured by using the blocked ear canal technique.Then,the reasonability of the minimum- phase approximation ofHpTFs was discussed through correlation analysis and psychoacoustic experiment.Analytical results indicate thatthe mean correlation coefficient between the measured and the minimum- phase- approximated HpTFs is 0.95 in thefrequency range from 0 to 12kHz,which validates the reasonability of the minimum- phase approximation of HpTFs.Moreover,the results of psychoacoustic experiment further demonstrate that there is no audible difference betweenthe measured and the minimum- phase- approximated HpTFs at the frequency below 12kHz.