Abstract: In order to establish a fast, accurate and less destructive method for analyzing leather shoes materials, the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine 42 sole samples of different brands. The samples were classified according to the number, position, morphology of characteristic infrared absorption peaks. The between－groups linkage method of SPSS 24.0 was used as the class distance, and squared Euclidean distance was used as interval measure for hierarchical clustering. The results show that 42 samples can be divided into five categories in the light of materials. This method is sensitive, convenient and can be used to identify the materials of shoes sole with good reproducibility.

Key words: fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, soles of leather shoes, SPSS clustering analysis