Abstract: To reveal the effect of measures for nicotine reduction including delayed-topping and root-cutting on growth and energy use strategies of upper leaves in flue-cured tobacco, leaf dry mass per unit area, total nitrogen, non-structural carbohydrate of the upper leaves were measured and compared to indicate the specific differences under various treatments, and the hypothesized paths for nicotine reduction by those measures were speculated. Delayed-topping significantly reduced the resource investment in the upper leaves, showing low leaf dry mass per unit area and non-structural carbohydrate contents, which were closely associated with the variation of nicotine content. In addition, the upper leaves became thicker and had a relatively higher non-structural carbohydrate and starch content under root-cutting treatment when being compared with those growing under normal conditions. Delayed-topping decreased the investment for tobacco growth and secondary metabolite synthesis, which may be an important reason for the reduction of nicotine content in the upper leaves. Although the root-cutting treatment changed the strategies of tobacco growth and energy utilization, the relationships among the changes such as single trait and nicotine content in the upper leaves were not significant.