Abstract: The effects of ⁶⁰Co gamma-ray irradiation on sterilization and decontamination and main components of monascorubin powder were studied. The results show that gamma-ray irradiation can effectively and efficiently kill the bacteria and moulds in monascorubin powder, and the percentages of the bacteria and moulds synchronously decrease with the increase of the irradiation dose. The D10 values for bacteria and moulds were 2.34 kGy and 5.89 kGy, respectively; the tolerance of molds to irradiation is higher than that of bacteria to irradiation. The optimum irradiation dose for monascorubin powder for the purpose of sterilization and decontamination is in the range of 7~8 kGy. The main components of monascorubin powder irradiated at a dose of 7~8 kGy have no obvious changes, but the chroma of monascorubin powder is decreased by 2.3%~2.6%. Monascorubin powder after sterilization by gamma irradiation has better storability to lengthen the storage life and maintain good quality.