[Objective] In this study, the relationship between the pigments and the color expression of leaves of colored-leaf plants was discussed. [Method] The colors of leaf blades of 6 kinds of plants were analyzed with the Royal Horticultural Soci-ety Colour Chart. The chlorophyl content, carotenoids content and anthocyanin con-tent in leaf blades were determined. In addition, the color types of leaf blades, kinds of pigments, pigment contents and pigment distributions of 6 kinds of plants were compared. [Result] The chlorophyl contents ranked as Populus canadensis Moench （green leaves） 〉 Populus deltoids cv. Zhonghuahongye （purple green leaves） 〉 Populus euramericana cv. Quanhong （red leaves）; Acer palmatum Thunb. （green leaves） 〉 Acer palmatum cv. Atropurpureum （purple red leaves） 〉 Acer pal-matum Thunb. cv. Atropurpureum （red leaves）. The ranking of anthocyanin contents was just opposite. The chlorophyl content was negatively related to the anthocyanin content. The leaf color of plants is determined by various pigments. The more the chlorophyl is, the greener the leaf is. The more the anthocyanin is, the redder the leaf is. In the colored-leaf plants, the chlorophyl content represents about 80% of the content of pigments, the carotenoids content represents about 17%, and the an-thocyanin represents about 3%. There is a difference in the chlorophyl content be-tween colored-leaf plants and green plants. However, the relatively low chlorophyl content wil not hamper the normal life activities of colored-leaf plants. [Conclusion] We hoped to provide reference and basis for the production and landscaping of col-ored-leaf plants.
