The ultrasonic pre-treatment method was used for the purpose of reducing the time employed in air-drying of habanero chili pepper. The pre-treatment was performed by immersing the sample in distilled water and applying ultrasonic signals during 30 and 60 min with a 750-Watt ultrasonic processor (20 kHz) operated at different percentages of amplitude (A) ranging between 20 and 100 %. The samples immediately underwent air-drying at 60 °C in a convection oven with an air velocity of 2±0.2 m/s. A mathematical model that takes into account the influence of the internal resistances to mass transport by diffusion (Dw) as well as the resistance of the membrane barrier (kc) promoted by the wax layer of the habanero pepper was proposed to analyze the drying kinetics. The drying time following the ultrasound treatment was reduced from a 25 to a 50 % compared to the results obtained in untreated samples. It was found that Dw and kc were significantly influenced by the ultrasonic pre-treatment (p