A study was carried out to determine the effect of moisture content and variety on dehulling performance and textural characteristics of unshelled (seed) and shelled (kernel) sunflower seeds. Four sunflower varieties were selected and conditioned to five levels of moisture content from 6.24% to 14.31% for seed and 6.18% to 14.29% (db) for kernel. Dehulling performance of seed was evaluated in terms of dehulling efficiency (DE) and non-recoverable kernel fraction (NRKF). The textural characteristics of both seed and its kernel were measured in terms of initial cracking force (ICF), average rupture force (ARF) and average rupture energy (ARE). Variation in moisture content and variety either individually or in combination showed a statistically significant effect on the dehulling performance and textural characteristics of sunflower seed, as well as the kernel. It was revealed that dehulling parameters could be well correlated with the textural characteristics. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.