It is mainly used in paint, ink, printing and dyeing, plastic products, paper making, rubber products, ceramics and other industries. With the rapid development of downstream industries, the demand for pigments continues to expand, and the development prospect of China's pigment industry is very broad. It is an indispensable raw material for the manufacture of paints, inks, oil painting pastes, makeup paints, color paper, etc. It is also used for filling and coloring plastics, rubber products and synthetic fiber stock solution.

Pigments differ from dyes in that general dyes can be dissolved in water (old distinction), while pigments are generally insoluble in water. Dyes are mainly used for dyeing textiles and other materials. However, this distinction is not very clear, because some dyes may also be insoluble in water, and pigments are also used for pigment printing and raw material coloring of textiles. The chemical structure of organic pigments is similar to that of organic dyes, so they are usually regarded as a branch of dyes.