Abstract: Coloration and anthocyanins of petals collected from Chaenomeles speciosa（Sweet Nakai of 24 accessions were determined. Color was measured by CIE L*a*b* scale and anthocyanins composition of C. speciosa was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection（HPLC–DAD）and HPLC electrospray ionization mass spectrometry（HPLC–ESI–MSn）. Cyanidin-3-O-galactoside（Cy3Ga），cyanidin-3-O-glucoside，pelargonidin-3-O-galactoside，pelargonidin-3-O-（galactose-glucose）[Pg3（Ga-G）]，cyanidin-3-O-（galactose-glucose）and cyanidin-3-O- succinylarabinoside（Cy3SucAra）were detected. Cy3SucAra was identified in C. speciosa for the first time. We explored the relationship between petal colors and anthocyanin contents by multiple linear regression analyses. The results indicated that Cy3Ga，Pg3（Ga-G）and Cy3SucAra were important pigments，high contents of which significantly enhanced the red color of petals. Based on anthocyanins constitutions，flower color modification and blue color breeding for C. speciosa were discussed.

Key words: Chaenomeles speciosa, anthocyanin, HPLC–DAD, MS, petal coloration