Abstract In this paper, several three dimensional (3-D) four-wing smooth quadratic autonomous chaotic systems are analyzed. It is shown that these systems have a number of similar features. A new 3-D continuous autonomous system is proposed based on these features. The new system can generate a four-wing chaotic attractor with less terms in the system equations. Several basic properties of the new system is analyzed by means of Lyapunov exponents, bifurcation diagrams and Poincare maps. Phase diagrams show that the equilibria are related to the existence of multiple wings.