The invention belongs to the technical field of image processing, and particularly relates to a method for extracting primary colors of a painting work image. The method comprises the following steps: 1, color clustering, to be specific, inputting the painting work image, and selecting 15 colors; 2, factor quantification, to be specific, analyzing area factors, purity factors and comparison factors of the 15 colors; 3, color sequencing, to be specific, grading the three types of factors in the step 2 to obtain grades of the 15 colors; 4, color selection, to be specific, selecting 5 colors according to the grade sequence and the selection rule in the step 3. The method disclosed by the invention has the benefits that the primary accurate colors of the painting work image can be obtained, so that the primary colors instruct image coloring and image color transmission to achieve a better effect. By the adoption of the method, a painting process of a person is fully considered, and quantification is realized, so that the primary colors of the painting work image conforming to human visual cognition are obtained. The method is qualitatively improved in the result quality aspect.