The effects of different debranching time on the properties of potato starch and its films were evaluated. Potato starch granules were debranched with pullulanase for 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 h. The effects of pullulanase debranching treatment on the chain-length distributions of amylopectin were analysed by high performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC), which proved that the shorter debranching treatment generated more linear chains with favourable lengths to facilitate the formation of potato starch-lauric acid complexes. The debranched starch-lipid complexes showed higher lauric acid content than that of the untreated sample. X-ray diffraction showed that the diffraction intensity of the debranched sample was stronger than that of the undebranched sample, and when the debranching time was >1.5 h, the diffraction intensity and relative crystallinity of the complexes decreased. The sample exhibited a high melting enthalpy (ΔH) under the pullulanase debranching treatment for 1.5 h. Scanning electron microscope data indicated that the surface of the composite film was flatter after the debranching treatment and that the films exhibited the lowest water vapour permeability and highest tensile strength after the treatment time for 1.5 h.