To investigate the modification effect of ferulic acid (FA) synergistic toughening treatment on potato starch (PS)， the gelatinization and gel properties of modified potato starch were studied by means of electronic scanning electron microscope， rheometer and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The results showed that under the condition of ferulic acid synergistic toughening， the particle size of FA-PS composite system increased， and when FA was 1%， the average particle size reached the maximum value of (41.52±0.01) μm. The whiteness increased， and the peak value was (97.10±0.01). The peak viscosity， disintegration value and retrogradation value of FA-PS decreased. The viscoelasticity of FA-PS gel was improved， and the loss tangent (tanδ) was the lowest when the content of FA was 3%. The toughening treatment made the gel structure of potato starch compact， and the addition of ferulic acid made the gel pore become uniform， which affected the short-range ordered structure of the composite system. Toughening treatment promoted the interaction between potato starch and ferulic acid in the composite system， and could effectively improve the gelatinization and rheological properties of potato starch.