The feasibility of heat treatment of Masson pine veneers (MPVs) was evaluated based on mass loss, tensile strength, bending strength, and water absorption of the heat-treated MPVs, and its application in plywood was explored. Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray diffraction results showed that heat-treated MPVs contained a lower amount of hydrophilic groups and had an increased crystallinity. The maximum tensile strength was 59.2 MPa when MPVs were heat-treated at 210 °C for 5.0 min. The corresponding mass loss, water absorption (384 h), and bending strength values were 1.72%, 105.44%, and 83.1 MPa, respectively. Plywood produced from heat-treated MPV (210 °C, 30 min) with the best fungal durability and the lowest shear strength (1.07 MPa) still met the requirements of the Chinese National Standard (GB/T 9846.3-2004, ≥0.80 MPa) for exterior plywood. These results indicate that products based on heat-treated MPV will have increased fungal durability.
