In this paper， the conditions for ethyl alcohol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y3401 were optimized， and its aroma-producing characteristics were explored. The ethyl alcohol production conditions were optimized by the single factor step-by-step method and orthogonal experimental design with ethyl alcohol producing medium. Optimum conditions for ethyl alcohol production have been shown as follows： glucose 300 g/L， yeast extract 37.8 g/L， initial pH 5.2， seed age 24 h， the inoculation ratio of 3%， the volume of liquid of 30 mL/250 mL， incubated for 32 h at 30 ℃ and 100 r/min. Under the optimal conditions， the ethanol concentration of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y3401 was 117.2 g/L， which was increased by 1.24-fold compared with the initial production （52.4 g/L）. Volatile compounds of the yeast in sorghum hydrolysate medium were detected by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with GC-MS. After culture for 32 h at 30 ℃ and 100 r/min， a total of 40 volatile compounds， such as β-phenylethanol， ethyl acetate， phenylethyl acetate， and so on， which are important to the quality of Baijiu. Therefore， Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y3401 can not only produce high-yield ethanol， but also produce a variety of flavor compounds that can improve the quality of Baijiu. These characteristics of Y3401 are beneficial to its application in Baijiu-making.