To elucidate the quality characteristics of different sea buckthorn varieties, this study selected 15 samples from various origins and cultivars, measuring key parameters including physicochemical properties, nutritional active components, and volatile compounds. A comprehensive evaluation model for sea buckthorn processing quality was developed using principal component analysis (PCA) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results demonstrated that Heihe Deep Autumn Red Sea Buckthorn exhibited the highest grain weight (47.24 g), juice yield (84.4%), and color quality; Aheqi Small Fruit had the highest soluble solids content (14.8 Brix); Shanxi Lüliang Small Fruit achieved the highest polyphenol content (828.26 mg/100 g) and vitamin C content (780.00 mg/100 g); Inner Mongolia Small Fruit possessed the highest polysaccharide content (72.08 mg?g-1); while Altay Deep Autumn Red Sea Buckthorn exhibited the highest flavonoid content (62.99 mg/100 g). GC-IMS analysis identified a total of 91 volatile compounds, primarily esters (30 types), aldehydes (12 types), terpenes (6 types), acids (5 types), heterocycles (2 types), phenols (2 types), and alkanes (1 type). Comprehensive evaluation via PCA and AHP revealed that Shanxi Lüliang Small Fruit ranked first among the 15 varieties, followed by Gansu Small Fruit, Inner Mongolia Small Fruit, and Altay Deep Autumn Red Sea Buckthorn in terms of overall performance scores.