Abstract: This study uses 10 different color Ranunculus asiaticus and 4 different color Anemone cathayensis as the materials. It measures the flower color phenotype of petals with visual colorimetry method，RHSCC colorimetric card colorimetry and colorimeter（CR-400），and determines the composition and structure of anthocyanins in petals with UV-vis spectrophotometer（TU-1901）and high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry（HPLC–ESI–MS）. And then it analyzes the relationship between flower color and anthocyanin composition with multiple linear regression. The results shows that five anthocyanins are detected in the petals of eight anthocyanin accumulating varieties of Ranunculus asiaticus，namely，pelargonidin，cyanidin，delphinidin，peonidin and malvidin. These anthocyanins are further modified to form 15 anthocyanins. The red and pink varieties mainly contain peonidin and cyanidin，while in yellow variety，pelargonidin or carotenoid is the main anthocyanin component. According to the analysis，the contents of cyanidin glycoside and pelargonidin glycoside are positively correlated with L* value，and the accumulation of pelargonidin glycoside has a greater contribution to petal brightness. Six anthocyanin are detected in the petals of four varieties of Anemone cathayensis，namely，petunidin，pelargonidin，cyanidin，delphinidin，peonidin and malvidin. They form 20 anthocyanins by different glycosylation and acylation modification，showing rich anthocyanin diversity.

Key words: Ranunculus asiaticus, Anemone cathayensis, anthocyanin, flower color