[Objective]To explore the effect of steam explosion treatment on the functional properties and the degree of Maillard reaction in wheat bran.[Method]Steam pressure and holding time were selected as two parameters including different pressures(0.75,1.00,1.25,1.50 MPa)and different holding times(105,120,135,150 s)formed 16 sets of experiments.The content of soluble dietary fiber and free phenolic acid in wheat bran,DPPH,and ABTS free radical scavenging rates of wheat bran,the browning degree,furosine and 5-hydroxym-ethylfurfural contents in wheat bran before and after treatment were analyzed.Then,the indexes were normalized by AHP,CRITIC,and AHP-CRITIC mixed weighting methods to optimize the process parameters.[Result]Wheat bran's soluble dietary fiber content increased after a steam explosion,the in vitro antioxidant capacity and the free phenolic acid content of steam-exploded wheat bran increased with the steam explosion pressure.Meanwhile,the changes in the degree of browning,furoline and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural contents indicated that steam explosion enhanced or promoted the degree of Maillard reaction.[Conclusion]The steam pressure of 1.50 MPa and the holding time of 135 s were the optimal process parameters.Taken together,the results demonstrate that the optimized steam explosion treatment could effectively improve the functional properties of wheat bran and reduce the content of Maillard reaction intermediates,which has a favorable application prospect.