To enhance the sensory quality of gluten-free highland barley flour products, this study investigated the effects of incorporating a highland barley flour-zein composite gel (at levels of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, mass fractions) on the dough processing characteristics and noodle quality. The results showed that with the increase of the addition amount from 0% to 50%, the peak gelatinization temperature of dough freeze-dried powder increased from 76.57 ℃ to 83.58 ℃, the breakdown value decreased from 876.00 cP to 349.67 cP, and the setback value decreased from 1141.00 cP to 816.67 cP. After adding composite gel, the viscoelasticity of the dough was enhanced, and the microstructure also confirmed that zein formed a continuous network structure, and the composite gel network could provide structural support for highland barley dough. Compared with the 0% addition of composite gel, the highland barley noodles with 40% compound gel had good cooking quality and texture characteristics, and the cooking loss of highland barley noodles was reduced by 55.75%, the breakage rate was reduced by 76.67%, the hardness was increased by 58.09 N, and the sensory score was higher than that of the other noodles. In conclusion, the highland barley flour-zein gel network serves as a structural support mechanism in gluten-free highland barley doughs and significantly improves cooking quality in highland barley noodles.