Objective The magnetic susceptibility and chroma of sediments have been widely used as climate proxies to restore the paleoclimate environment. It is important to study the change mechanism of these parameters in different environments for paleoclimate restoration. Methods The sampling and measurement of surface soil magnetic susceptibility and chroma were conducted in the western Qilian Mountains， northwestern China. The variation characteristics of magnetic susceptibility and chroma with precipitation， temperature， and altitude and the functional relationship between magnetic susceptibility and chroma and climate factors and altitude were established through regression analysis. Results The results showed that： （1） The magnetic susceptibility of surface soil in the western Qilian Mountains showed a significant nonlinear relationship with mean annual temperature and precipitation. When the mean annual precipitation was less than 300 mm and mean annual temperature was lower than 0 ℃， the magnetic susceptibility showed a significant negative correlation with them. When the mean annual precipitation was greater than 300 mm and the mean annual temperature was higher than 0 ℃， the magnetic susceptibility shows a significant positive correlation. In addition， there was a significant linear negative correlation between magnetic susceptibility and altitude， and the negative correlation between magnetic susceptibility and altitude was more significant in the low altitude region （1 600-3 300 m）. Finally， the functional relationship between surface soil magnetic susceptibility， mean annual precipitation， and mean annual moderate altitude in the western Qilian Mountains was established through regression analysis. （2） There is a significant correlation between the brightness of the surface soil in the western Qilian Mountains and the yellowness， indicating that the yellowness has a greater influence on the brightness than the redness in the western Qilian Mountains. The relative content of goethite in the surface soil is higher than that of hematite， corresponding to the overall yellowish brown color of the surface soil. Chroma （brightness， redness， and yellowness） has no evident relationship with temperature and precipitation. Brightness and altitude showed a significant negative correlation， and the low altitude area （1 600-3 300 m） was more sensitive. Conclusions In comparison， the magnetic susceptibility of surface soil in the western Qilian Mountains can better reflect the information of climate and elevation in the western Qilian Mountains than chroma. For the changes of magnetic susceptibility， chroma， and altitude， the relationship between brightness and altitude is more significant in the low altitude area （1 600-3 300 m）， followed by yellowness and magnetic susceptibility. In the high altitude area （3 700-4 300 m）， the relationship between redness and brightness and altitude is more significant. Thus， to establish the relationship between a single index and climatic factors in the western part of Qilian Mountains， it is necessary to consider the influence of local climate， terrain， and even primitive rock on the magnetic susceptibility and colorimetry indexes.