This paper establishes a high-resolution sequence of the color record of lacustrine sediments from 13 to 4.5 Ma from 2060 continuous samples collected in the Linxia Basin at 10 cm intervals to establish a paleoclimate proxy. Based on analyses of sediment color with sediment composition, and by comparing the color records with content variation curves for chlorine ion, aeolian quartz, calcium carbonate and pollen in the Linxia Basin as well as aeolian silt from the 0DP 885/886 borehole in the North Pacific Ocean, the relationship between the color records of lacustrine sediments and climate changes are discussed, and two climate shifts at about 8 and 6.2 Myr are revealed.