This study utilized middle-position leaves of the tobacco variety Xiangyan No.7 to compare two curing processes: the stable-temperature and humidity-drop curing process and the four-step curing process. The investigation assessed the uniformity of temperature and humidity within the curing barn, monitored the dynamic changes in leaf substances and evaluated their collective effects on the appearance quality, physical properties, chemical composition, and smoking quality of the cured tobacco leaves, as well as on the processing economic efficiency. The results showed that the vertical difference in temperature was smaller than the horizontal one, while the opposite was true for humidity. Compared with the four-step curing process, the stable-temperature and humidity-drop curing process enhanced the uniformity of temperature and humidity within the barn and increased leaf chroma,oil content, individual leaf mass, and sugar content, while reducing the starch and carotenoid content of the tobacco leaves. It increased the proportion of normal-group tobacco leaves by 3.27 percentage points, reduced the proportion of variegated tobacco leaves by 2.08 percentage points, and decreased the proportion of slightly greenish tobacco leaves by 1.18 percentage points. In addition, it increased the proportion of high quality tobacco leaves by 3.92 percentage points, raised the average price by 5.02%, improved the total score for appearance quality and sensory quality by 5.31% and 3.05%, respectively, and reduced the curing energy cost by 6.91%. Therefore, adopting the stable-temperature and humidity-drop curing process is recommended for middle-position tobacco leaves in rice-cropping tobacco regions to achieve improved tobacco quality, reduced costs, and greater curing economic efficiency.