Abstract: In hilly regions, there is a large number of camellia oleifera forests, and currently, there is no mechanized equipment available for collecting camellia oleifera flower buds. This study designed a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator for collecting camellia oleifera flower buds. By analyzing the biological characteristics of camellia oleifera flower buds, the rotary-twist end effector could achieve efficient collection with a clean rate of 90%. The size of the manipulator was determined by the manipulator workspace analysis; and the end effector was loaded onto the manipulator for field test. The results showed that the six-degree-of-freedom manipulator equipped with the rotary-twist end effector could reach the boundary position within the collecting range. The maximum devications in the x, y and z directions was 3.4 cm, 3.3 cm and 3.4 cm, respectively. It provided a basis for the intelligent collection of camellia oleifera flower buds.