The reliability and veracity of hyperspectral imaging integrated with multivariate analyses were investigated for authentication of sliced organic potato (OP) from non-organic tubers and rapid grading of tubers on the basis of different moisture levels. Hyperspectral images of all the tuber samples were obtained and their spectral data were extracted and pre-processed. Then, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) model was established for recognition of the tested samples. Loading plots of the second derivative (SD) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used for selecting characteristic wavelengths. The OP samples were identified correctly (100% accuracy) from non-organic tubers by MC-PLSDA model using only characteristic wavelengths, with predicted sensitivities of 1.000, specificities of ⩾0.944, classification error of ⩽0.028, coefficient of determination (R2P) of no more than 0.979 and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of ⩽0.532 for each adulterate type. Another simplified PLSDA model was applied for grading tuber moisture levels, resulting in a correct classification of ⩾91.6%. The visualization results shown on classification maps achieved a rapid and convenient interpretation of tuber varieties and moisture levels. These results indicated that hyperspectral imaging has a great potential for discrimination of OP and identification of tuber moisture levels.