Based on the typical cycle conditions, the energy flow evaluation and analysis of hybrid electric vehicles was carried out, and the method of reducing energy consumption for actual road operating conditions was studied. The efficiency characteristic parameters of vehicle energy flow under cycle conditions were compared. The input and output power and operating mode characteristics of engine, generator and drive motor under WLTC cycle conditions were then obtained based on the segmentation of different operating conditions. Finally, the substitute method of selected typical cycle conditions for actual road operating conditions was proposed based on the characteristic parameters of operating conditions to achieve the optimization of energy consumption. The results show that the highest cycle comprehensive thermal efficiency of engine reaches 36.79% and the braking energy recovery efficiency of urban cycle reaches 87.04%. The overall efficiency of vehicle is 29.72% at highspeed condition, which is the most energy-saving condition. The global optimization is carried out for the typical cycle operating condition of WLTC-LM that represents the actual road operation. According to the simulation results, the energy consumption per hundred kilometers of vehicle reduces by 3.98%.