Drying is one of the most common ways in bamboo shoots processing and is the key to affect the quality of dried bamboo shoots. In order to evaluate the drying characteristics of bamboo shoots and determine the most appropriate drying model under the hot-air thin layer drying conditions, the moisture content and drying rate of bamboo shoots studies were carried out during hot-air thin layer drying process. The effects of drying temperature, air speed and slice thickness on the drying characteristics were determined and hot-air thin layer drying kinetics model of bamboo shoots was set up. The results showed that the hot-air thin layer temperature, air speed and slice thickness had greater influences on the drying characteristics of bamboo shoots. The drying rate increased with the increase of drying temperature and air speed, whereas the drying rate gradually decreased with the increase of slice thickness. The whole drying process was divided into three stages with different conditions, including the accelerated drying, constant rate drying and falling rate drying. The most appropriate hot-air thin layer drying conditions were drying temperature 80 ℃, air speed 2.0 m/s, and slice thickness 1.0 cm. The hot-air thin layer drying kinetics met Page model and this model was suitable for describing and predicting the hot-air thin layer drying of bamboo shoots. The research may provide a reference for industrial production of dried bamboo shoots or other dried vegetables.