In order to establish a rapid method for the determination of lutein content in the petals of marigold (Tagetes erecta), the values of L* (brightness), a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) of marigold petals were measured by colorimeter and the color factors, such as a*/b*, (a*/b*)2, chroma, hue and shade were calculated. At the same time, UV- Spectrophotometry combined with HPLC method was used to determine the lutein content of petals, and the correlation between lutein content and these color factors was analyzed, and the regression equation was established and verified. The results showed that the lutein content of marigold petals was significantly correlated with a*、a*/b*、(a*/b*)2, hue and shade; the regression equation between lutein content and a* value constructed by cubic function model had the highest degree of fit, and there was no significant difference between the predicted value and the measured value of lutein content. The results showed that the cubic function model based on a* value could quickly and non-destructively predict the lutein content of marigold petals.