Sago starch-water suspensions ( 8.0%) were subjected to pulsed electric fields ( PEF) at 30,40 and 50 kV/cm,respectively,and the physicochemical properties of the treated starch were investigated by means of the scanning electron microscopy,the laser scattering,the X-ray diffraction,the differential scanning calorimetry and the Brabender viscosity test. The results show that,after PEF treatment,the granule morphology and crystalline structure of the starch are both damaged,that the damage becomes more significant with the increase of the electric field strength,that,after the PEF treatment at 50 kV/cm,the relative crystallinity remarkably decreases,that the PEF treatment results in an obvious decrease of granule size,and that gelatinization temperature,the peak temperature,the gelatinization enthalpy and the hot paste stability all decreased,while the gelling and the retrogradation both improved.