Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the color characteristics and the storage years of Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ (GCRP).The color values L*,a*,b* were determined by colorimeter.The content of total flavonoids was determined by UV spectrophotometry.The contents of narirutin,hesperidin,nobiletin and tangeretin were determined by HPLC.SPSS software was used to analyze the correlation between the color value,the storage years and the content of effective components.Results show that the storage years are significantly correlated with the color values of L* and b*.The correlation coefficients are -0.935 and -0.917,respectively.With the increase of storage years,the brightness of the powder color darkened and move into the blue direction.The regression equation are Ln (color value L*)=4.240-0.089 · Ln (storage years) and Ln (color value b*)=3.220-0.156 · Ln (storage years).With the increase of storage years,the total flavonoids and the four kinds of flavonoids show curve-type change and the change trend is basically the same.According to the results of the research,the storage years of GCRP have a significant correlation with the color value L*,b*.The color value of the medicinal materials can provide a reference for the rapid identification of the storage years.It is difficult to discuss “the older,the better” of GCRP from the changes of flavonoids because of the quality of the medicinal materials.

Key words: Citrus reticulata &lsquo, Chachi&rsquo, color value, discrimination of storage years, &ldquo, the older,the better&rdquo, quality evaluation