Abstract: In order to explore the composting cycle and the compost maturity evaluation system, the effectiveness of maturity parameters during the composting process was assessed based on chemical and biological measurements. The parameters included temperature, moisture content, pH, C/N, Organic Matter (OM), NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^--N, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the ratio of DOC to dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and Germination Index (GI). The samples included nine typical compost sources in Shanghai. The results showed that T value (the ratio of C/N at initial stage and C/N at final stage of composting), OM, NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^--N, DOC/DON and GI were correlated with each other. The parameters indicated that the compost maturity was affected by the combination of all parameters, but not necessarily by each measure individually. The results suggested that T value, NH₄⁺-N and GI were more suitable for use as indicators of the compost maturity than others. In order to describe the level of maturity, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed based on T value, NH₄⁺-N and GI. At the end of composting, the ranges of T value, NH₄⁺-N and GI were from 0.50 to 0.59,1 to 346 mg/L and 81.31% to 91.03%, respectively. The different composts were clustered into five groups:the first group included kitchen waste (KW), lawn waste (LW), municipal solid waste (MSW) and green waste (GW); the second group were sludge (S) and fruit and vegetable waste (FVW); the third group was primarily straw waste (SW); the fourth group was composed of chicken manure (CM); and the fifth group was pig manure (PM). According to the parameters of compost maturity (T value, NH₄⁺-N and GI), the maturity was lower in KW, LW, MSW and GW, which reached an acceptable level of stability in 35 days, while the maturity was higher in CM and PM, which reached an acceptable level of stability in 29 days. The results suggested that the composting process with different materials could come to an end in 35 days based on the compost technology.