diff --git a/src/voxcpm/core.py b/src/voxcpm/core.py
index 1a1d8398..9b00d5c1 100644
--- a/src/voxcpm/core.py
+++ b/src/voxcpm/core.py
@@ -11,6 +11,51 @@
 from .model.utils import next_and_close
 
 
+# Autoregressive quality degrades on long inputs: past a few hundred characters
+# the output drifts into distortion/instability (issue #372, worse on VoxCPM2).
+# Splitting the text into sentence-sized chunks and synthesizing each with the
+# same prompt cache keeps every generation short while preserving the voice.
+DEFAULT_MAX_CHUNK_CHARS = 200
+# Sentence-ending marks used as preferred split points (CJK + ASCII).
+_SENTENCE_DELIMITERS = "。！？；…!?;"
+
+
+def split_text_into_chunks(text: str, max_chars: int = DEFAULT_MAX_CHUNK_CHARS) -> list:
+    """Split ``text`` into chunks no longer than ``max_chars`` characters.
+
+    Splits preferentially after sentence-ending punctuation so chunk boundaries
+    fall on natural pauses; a single sentence longer than ``max_chars`` is
+    hard-sliced. Returns ``[text]`` unchanged when it already fits (or when
+    ``max_chars`` is non-positive, which disables splitting).
+    """
+    text = text.strip()
+    if not text:
+        return []
+    if max_chars <= 0 or len(text) <= max_chars:
+        return [text]
+
+    # Zero-width split after each run of sentence-ending marks, keeping them.
+    pieces = re.split(f"(?<=[{re.escape(_SENTENCE_DELIMITERS)}])", text)
+    chunks = []
+    buf = ""
+    for piece in pieces:
+        if not piece:
+            continue
+        if len(buf) + len(piece) <= max_chars:
+            buf += piece
+            continue
+        if buf:
+            chunks.append(buf.strip())
+            buf = ""
+        while len(piece) > max_chars:
+            chunks.append(piece[:max_chars].strip())
+            piece = piece[max_chars:]
+        buf = piece
+    if buf.strip():
+        chunks.append(buf.strip())
+    return [chunk for chunk in chunks if chunk]
+
+
 class VoxCPM:
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -197,6 +242,7 @@ def _generate(
         retry_badcase_ratio_threshold: float = 6.0,
         streaming: bool = False,
         seed: Optional[int] = None,
+        max_chunk_chars: int = DEFAULT_MAX_CHUNK_CHARS,
     ) -> Generator[np.ndarray, None, None]:
         """Synthesize speech for the given text and return a single waveform.
 
@@ -220,6 +266,11 @@ def _generate(
             retry_badcase_ratio_threshold: Threshold for audio-to-text ratio.
             streaming: Whether to return a generator of audio chunks.
             seed: Optional random seed for reproducibility.
+            max_chunk_chars: Long inputs are split into chunks of at most this
+                many characters (on sentence boundaries) and synthesized
+                sequentially with the same prompt, avoiding the quality
+                degradation seen on long single-shot generations. Set to 0 or a
+                negative value to disable splitting.
         Returns:
             Generator of numpy.ndarray: 1D waveform array (float32) on CPU.
             Yields audio chunks for each generation step if ``streaming=True``,
@@ -285,29 +336,37 @@ def _generate(
                     self.text_normalizer = TextNormalizer()
                 text = self.text_normalizer.normalize(text)
 
-            generate_result = self.tts_model._generate_with_prompt_cache(
-                target_text=text,
-                prompt_cache=fixed_prompt_cache,
-                min_len=min_len,
-                max_len=max_len,
-                inference_timesteps=inference_timesteps,
-                cfg_value=cfg_value,
-                retry_badcase=retry_badcase,
-                retry_badcase_max_times=retry_badcase_max_times,
-                retry_badcase_ratio_threshold=retry_badcase_ratio_threshold,
-                streaming=streaming,
-                seed=seed,
-            )
+            chunks = split_text_into_chunks(text, max_chars=max_chunk_chars) or [text]
+
+            def _synthesize(chunk_text: str):
+                return self.tts_model._generate_with_prompt_cache(
+                    target_text=chunk_text,
+                    prompt_cache=fixed_prompt_cache,
+                    min_len=min_len,
+                    max_len=max_len,
+                    inference_timesteps=inference_timesteps,
+                    cfg_value=cfg_value,
+                    retry_badcase=retry_badcase,
+                    retry_badcase_max_times=retry_badcase_max_times,
+                    retry_badcase_ratio_threshold=retry_badcase_ratio_threshold,
+                    streaming=streaming,
+                    seed=seed,
+                )
 
             if streaming:
-                try:
-                    for wav, _, _ in generate_result:
-                        yield wav.squeeze(0).cpu().numpy()
-                finally:
-                    generate_result.close()
+                for chunk_text in chunks:
+                    generate_result = _synthesize(chunk_text)
+                    try:
+                        for wav, _, _ in generate_result:
+                            yield wav.squeeze(0).cpu().numpy()
+                    finally:
+                        generate_result.close()
             else:
-                wav, _, _ = next_and_close(generate_result)
-                yield wav.squeeze(0).cpu().numpy()
+                parts = []
+                for chunk_text in chunks:
+                    wav, _, _ = next_and_close(_synthesize(chunk_text))
+                    parts.append(wav.squeeze(0).cpu().numpy())
+                yield parts[0] if len(parts) == 1 else np.concatenate(parts)
 
         finally:
             for tmp_path in temp_files:
diff --git a/tests/test_long_text_chunking.py b/tests/test_long_text_chunking.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f118d3da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_long_text_chunking.py
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+"""Regression tests for long-text chunking (issue #372).
+
+Long single-shot generations drift into distortion past a few hundred
+characters. ``VoxCPM._generate`` now splits long text into sentence-sized
+chunks and synthesizes each one separately, so every generation stays short.
+
+The heavy model dependencies are stubbed so ``core.py`` can be loaded in
+isolation without torch / the model weights.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+import sys
+import types
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+CORE_PATH = ROOT / "src" / "voxcpm" / "core.py"
+
+MAX_CHARS = 40  # small threshold so tests stay short and deterministic
+
+
+def _load_core():
+    """Load voxcpm.core with its heavy imports replaced by lightweight stubs."""
+    pkg = types.ModuleType("voxcpm")
+    pkg.__path__ = [str(ROOT / "src" / "voxcpm")]
+    sys.modules["voxcpm"] = pkg
+
+    hub = types.ModuleType("huggingface_hub")
+    hub.snapshot_download = lambda *a, **k: None
+    sys.modules["huggingface_hub"] = hub
+
+    model_pkg = types.ModuleType("voxcpm.model")
+    model_pkg.__path__ = []
+    sys.modules["voxcpm.model"] = model_pkg
+
+    voxcpm_mod = types.ModuleType("voxcpm.model.voxcpm")
+    voxcpm_mod.VoxCPMModel = type("VoxCPMModel", (), {})
+    voxcpm_mod.LoRAConfig = type("LoRAConfig", (), {})
+    sys.modules["voxcpm.model.voxcpm"] = voxcpm_mod
+
+    voxcpm2_mod = types.ModuleType("voxcpm.model.voxcpm2")
+    voxcpm2_mod.VoxCPM2Model = type("VoxCPM2Model", (), {})
+    sys.modules["voxcpm.model.voxcpm2"] = voxcpm2_mod
+
+    utils_mod = types.ModuleType("voxcpm.model.utils")
+
+    def next_and_close(gen):
+        try:
+            return next(gen)
+        finally:
+            gen.close()
+
+    utils_mod.next_and_close = next_and_close
+    sys.modules["voxcpm.model.utils"] = utils_mod
+
+    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("voxcpm.core", CORE_PATH)
+    core = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+    sys.modules["voxcpm.core"] = core
+    assert spec.loader is not None
+    spec.loader.exec_module(core)
+    return core
+
+
+core = _load_core()
+
+
+class _FakeWav:
+    """Stand-in for a torch tensor: squeeze(0).cpu().numpy() -> np.ndarray."""
+
+    def __init__(self, arr):
+        self._arr = arr
+
+    def squeeze(self, _dim):
+        return self
+
+    def cpu(self):
+        return self
+
+    def numpy(self):
+        return self._arr
+
+
+class _RecordingModel:
+    """Records every target_text handed to the generation entry point."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.calls = []
+
+    def _generate_with_prompt_cache(self, target_text, streaming=False, **kwargs):
+        self.calls.append(target_text)
+        # one sample per character -> audio length reflects chunk length
+        wav = _FakeWav(np.zeros(len(target_text), dtype=np.float32))
+
+        def _gen():
+            yield wav, None, None
+
+        return _gen()
+
+
+def _make_vox(model):
+    vox = core.VoxCPM.__new__(core.VoxCPM)
+    vox.tts_model = model
+    vox.denoiser = None
+    vox.text_normalizer = None
+    return vox
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# split_text_into_chunks (pure helper)
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+
+
+def test_short_text_is_single_chunk():
+    text = "你好世界。"
+    assert core.split_text_into_chunks(text, max_chars=MAX_CHARS) == [text]
+
+
+def test_long_text_splits_on_sentence_boundaries():
+    text = "第一句话。" * 20  # 100 chars, far over MAX_CHARS
+    chunks = core.split_text_into_chunks(text, max_chars=MAX_CHARS)
+    assert len(chunks) > 1, "long text must be split into multiple chunks"
+    assert all(len(c) <= MAX_CHARS for c in chunks), "no chunk may exceed max_chars"
+    assert "".join(chunks) == text, "chunks must reconstruct the original text"
+
+
+def test_splitting_disabled_when_max_chars_non_positive():
+    text = "很长的句子" * 50
+    assert core.split_text_into_chunks(text, max_chars=0) == [text]
+
+
+def test_sentence_without_delimiter_is_hard_sliced():
+    text = "字" * 100  # no punctuation to split on
+    chunks = core.split_text_into_chunks(text, max_chars=MAX_CHARS)
+    assert all(len(c) <= MAX_CHARS for c in chunks)
+    assert "".join(chunks) == text
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# _generate wiring: long text -> multiple model calls, audio concatenated
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+
+
+def test_generate_chunks_long_text_into_multiple_calls():
+    model = _RecordingModel()
+    vox = _make_vox(model)
+    text = "这是一段很长的测试文本。" * 10  # ~120 chars
+
+    out = list(vox._generate(text, streaming=False, max_chunk_chars=MAX_CHARS))
+
+    assert len(model.calls) > 1, (
+        f"long text should produce >1 generation call, got {len(model.calls)}"
+    )
+    assert all(len(c) <= MAX_CHARS for c in model.calls)
+    # single concatenated waveform whose length == total synthesized characters
+    assert len(out) == 1
+    assert out[0].shape[0] == sum(len(c) for c in model.calls)
+    print(f"long text -> {len(model.calls)} chunks, audio samples={out[0].shape[0]}")
+
+
+def test_generate_short_text_is_single_call():
+    model = _RecordingModel()
+    vox = _make_vox(model)
+    text = "短文本。"
+
+    list(vox._generate(text, streaming=False, max_chunk_chars=MAX_CHARS))
+
+    assert len(model.calls) == 1, "short text must not be split"
+    print(f"short text -> {len(model.calls)} chunk")
+
+
+def test_generate_streaming_yields_each_chunk():
+    model = _RecordingModel()
+    vox = _make_vox(model)
+    text = "流式测试的句子。" * 8
+
+    out = list(vox._generate(text, streaming=True, max_chunk_chars=MAX_CHARS))
+
+    assert len(model.calls) > 1
+    assert len(out) == len(model.calls), "streaming yields one array per chunk"
+    print(f"streaming long text -> {len(model.calls)} chunks yielded")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(pytest.main([__file__, "-v", "-s"]))