Objectives The stage of age with better sperm quality for breeding boars was studied to provide the theoretical reference for the fine management and the improvement in the production efficiency of breeding pigs in pig farming enterprises. Methods 96 breeding Large White Boars were selected from a pig farm in Hubei province and divided into the group aged 8-11, 12-15, 16-19 and 20-23 months, with 24 boars in each group. The semen quality analyzer and Giemsa staining method were used to detect the vitality, density, abnormality rate, and sperm count in each group of semen. Results The ejaculation volume of the boars in the group aged 16-19 months increased by 78.07% and 22.21% respectively compared to that in the group aged 8-11 months and 20-23 months (P<0.01). The semen density of the boars in the group aged 16-19 months increased by 124.41% and 102.11% respectively compared to that in the group aged 8-11 months and 20-23 months (P<0.01). The sperm vitality of the boars in the group aged 12-15 months increased by 7.50% and 6.17% respectively compared to that in the group aged 8-11 months and 20-23 months (P<0.01). The abnormality rate of sperm in the group aged 16-19 months was 1.83% lower than that in the group aged 8-11 months (P<0.01), and 0.79% and 0.83% lower than that in the group aged 12-15 months and 20-23 months, respectively (P<0.05). The total sperm count in the group aged 16-19 months increased by 291.97% and 147.93% respectively compared to that in the group aged 8-11 months and 20-23 months (P<0.01), while the effective sperm count increased by 309.40% and 157.15% respectively compared to that in the group aged 8-11 months and the 20-23 months (P<0.01). Conclusions It is indicated that priority can be given to selecting boar semen aged 12-19 months in the practice of farming. Large white boars aged 15-19 months can be selected for core breeding, and training can begin at 8 months of age to maximize the reproductive potential of the breeding boars.