Sterculia nobilis Smith nuts are rich in starch. However, few studies have reported on the molecular structure and digestibility of starch in Smith nuts. To address this, Smith nut samples were subjected to cooking either with or without intact shells to explore the digestibility and molecular structure of starch and investigate their interaction. The experimental results showed that starch from Smith nuts cooked after shell removal exhibited a higher slowly digestible starch content (55.16%) and proportion (20.15%) of long-chain amylopectin (36