Abstract: It is an important content in the identification research on the ancient jade wares through study the colour of the wares.The colour of the unearthed ancient jade ware is caused by the factors:(1)the colour of itself,which is called the material colour of jade by the author.It is determined by the components and the content of the colour-causing elements in the jade;(2)the colour of some jades which are fashioned into the jade articles are buried in soil and then they act with the medium around.So it is called soak-induced colour.In the identification practice,the colours of the jade materials are mistaken to soak-induced colour.The Hetian jade is taken for an example in the article to identify the material colour and soak-induced colour through the relationship between the colour and the carved grains on jade.