Recently dyes derived from natural sources have emerged as important alternatives to synthetic dyes. A study was initiated in the year 2000 at the RRL (CSIR), Jorhat to extract dyes from parts of five different plant species indigenous to northeastern India. The colour components responsible for dyeing were isolated and their chemical constituents were established based on chemical and spectroscopic investigations. The principal colour components from the species Morinda angustifolia Roxb., Rubia cordifolia Linn. and Tectona grandis Linn. were found to contain mainly anthraquinone moieties in their molecules. Those from the species Miniusops elengi Linn. and Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. contained flavonoid moieties in their molecules. The absorption of dye (%) on fibres increased with increasing concentrations of dye in the dye-bath. Maximum absorption of dyes on fibres was obtained at 3% concentration of dyes obtained from R. cordfolia (35.350%), M. angustifolia (31.580%) and T grandis (25.888%) and at 4% concentration of the dyes from M. elengi (31.917%) and T arjuna (12.246%). The K/S values were found to increase with the increase in concentration of mordants. The colour co-ordinates of dyed samples were found to lie in the yellow-red quadrant of the colour space diagram. The dyes obtained from the native plants may be alternative sources to synthetic dyes for the dyeing of natural silk and cotton. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.