A new analytical method was applied to a stage-wise superstructure model for the heat exchanger networks,by which the stream temperatures in the heat exchanger networks can be calculated explicitly and the constraints of mixed integer nonlinear programming(MINLP) model can be reduced dramatically.Based on the present analytical solution,a genetic algorithm coupled with simulated annealing algorithm and hill-climbing algorithm was developed.The elite strategy and structure mutation strategies were introduced in the algorithm,which enhance the structural search ability of the algorithm.Three examples from literatures were calculated with the proposed procedure,and the results show that the present hybrid genetic algorithm has a good ability for searching both parameters and structure.