Natural colorants are regarded as substitutes for synthetic colorants in the fields of fiber dyeing, hair dyeing, cosmetic, and food industries. The use of natural colorants has been increased in view of global environment and sustainability. However, scientific approach to the production is required because the supply of natural colorants depends on the climate, soil, and cultivation methods. This brief review contains the advances in science and technology related to natural colorants including characterization, analysis, CIEL*a*b* and Munsell color systems, and future prospects. For the characterization and the analysis of natural colorants, chromatography, some spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis, FT-IR, NMR), mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction are generally used.