In present study， the processing characteristics， sensory properties and ultrastructure were explored after the black barleys were treated with different ultra-high pressure （UHP） conditions， which were 100， 300 MPa and 600 MPa for 5 min and 15 min， respectively. The results showed that UHP treatment could reduce the enthalpy of starch gelatinization， thus significantly shortened the cooking time （P < 0.05）. The hardness and chewiness obvilusly decreased， with a maximum decrease of 22.3% and 38.2%， respectively（P< 0.05）. The sensory evaluation scoresof smell， luster， hardness， taste and of cold barley texture increased with the increase of treatment pressures. Compared with the untreated group， when the pressure was increased to 300 MPa and 600 MPa， the score of black barley hardness increased by 45 and 53 points， and the score of texture of cold barley increased by 16 and 22 points， respectively. Ultrastructure observation results showed that the UHP could destroy the arrangement structure and crystal structure of starch of black barley. The present study showed that the processing characteristics and food qualityof black barley could be effectively improved by UHP treatment.