A　tone　codebook　mapping　method　is　proposed　to　obtain　a　better　performance　in　voice　conversion　of　Mandarin　speech　than　the　conventional　conversion　method　which　deals　mainly　with　short-time　spectral　envelopes.　The　pitch　contour　of　the　whole　Mandarin　syllable　is　used　as　a　unit　type　for　pitch　conversion.　The　syllable　pitch　contours　are　first　extracted　from　the　source　and　target　utterances.　Time　normalization　and　moving　average　filtering　are　then　performed　on　them.　These　preprocessed　pitch　contours　are　classified　to　generate　the　source　and　target　tone　codebooks,　and　by　associating　them,　a　Mandarin　tone　mapping　codebook　is　finally　obtained　in　terms　of　speech　alignment.　Experiment　results　show　that　the　proposed　method　for　voice　conversion　can　deliver　a　satisfactory　performance　in　Mandarin　speech.　©　Springer-Verlag　Berlin　Heidelberg　2006.