Abstract: Eighty two years dark-brown heart Cunningham lanceolate from Hunan Province was selected and the anatomy, physical and mechanical properties were investigated, then the wood quality was also assessed. The results showed that mean growth ring width and heart wood ratio were 1.1 mm and 60.7%. The average tracheid length and width were 3182 μm and 41.93 μm, and the ratio of length to width was 75.04. The mean microfiber angle in wood cell wall was 13.18°. Basic density and air-dried density of dark-brown heart C. lanceolate were 0.432 g/cm³ and 0.509 g/cm³, respectively. Dark-brown heart C. lanceolate showed relatively lower shrinkage and swelling than other reported softwood. The compression strength parallel to the grain, static bending strength and bending modulus of elastic were 69.13, 106.34 MPa and 9.69 GPa, respectively. Dark-brown heart C. lanceolate could been classified into high strength grade and showed significant higher wood quality coefficient than other common precious wood species used in architectural structure and decoration. Radial patterns of wood anatomy suggested that the boundary between the juvenile and mature wood of dark−brown heart C. lanceolate was at the age of 15−20 years.