Abstract: The contents of leaf pigment and soluble sugar in the process of leaf discoloration were determined by using different seedlings of Sapium sebiferum as test materials. The effects of light, soil and their interaction on the coloration of S. sebiferum leaves were discussed. The results showed that the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a+b decreased significantly, while the anthocyanin content increased significantly, and the soluble sugar content increased first and then decreased. Soil, light and their interaction showed significant or extremely significant effects on pigment and soluble sugar content at different stages. The mountain red soil and full-light combination of each strain showed the best change in pigmentation, and the chlorophyll a+b degradation in leaves was 0.77 mg/g, 1.19 mg/g respectively, and anthocyanin contents were 6.47 times and 1.34 times higher than rice field soil and 50% shading treatment, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a+b were significantly negatively correlated with anthocyanin content. This study found that in the process of autumn leaf color change, S. sebiferum was more conducive to leaf color in the condition of full light and mountain red soil.