The invention relates a rapid and effective method for determining total sugar content in sorbitol liquor. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining the content of maltotetraol, maltotriol and maltitol by high performance liquid chromatography; and calculating the total sugar content by a formula: maltotetraol content * a + maltotriol content * b + maltitol content * c + d = total sugarcontent of sorbitol liquid according to the data of the three contents. The invention ensures reliable result of a test for determining the total sugar content in sorbitol liquid, which not only savesreagents, but also greatly shortens the measurement time, thereby improving the detection efficiency.