Objective This paper discusses the quality requirements of ethane for the production of ethylene to determine the different quality requirements of ethane for different utilization and transportation ways, and further discusses the detection methods of different quality indicators of ethane in order to provide technical support for the relevant industry producing ethane from natural gas.Methods This paper mainly refers to the quality requirements of ethane products in the American Gas Processing Engineering Data Manual (GPSA) and the PetroChina enterprise standard of Q/SY 01027-2019 Technical specification of ethane extracted from natural gas. Based on these two documents, the quality requirements and indexes of gaseous and liquid ethane products in China were studied and discussed intensively, respectively. Results The ethane products may be divided into three classes according to their gaseous and liquid characteristics. Ethane products come from natural gas, so it is appropriate to use natural gas sampling method for sampling and to use related analysis and test standards of natural gas for its main quality determination. Conclusions At present, there are no national or industrial standards for ethane products in China. It is suggested that the relevant departments should faciliate the development process of national or industrial standards for ethane products to uniformly regulate the quality indicators, classification, inspection rules and delivery acceptance of ethane products. And then it can provide technical support for the implementation of ethane recovery projects, as well as promote the establishment of China’s ethane market and production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]