The methods of simultaneous and successive color matching have been compared for a set of five Munsell color samples by 50 older adult observers, 25 men and 25 women (ranging in age from 64 to 80 years). From comparison between this population and one of 50 younger adult observers, 25 men and 25 women (in the 20-27 age range), we can deduce, in general, the following: (a) In the elderly adults the mean CIELAB total color difference (Delta E*(ab)) in simultaneous color matching is lower than the Delta E*(ab) by memory color matching. (b) While younger adults matched well the color of all the reference tests, the elderly adults matched poorly both greens and orange. (c) Younger adults remember the original color better than do the older adults (P = 0.007), depending on gender and delay time. (d) Although with simultaneous matching, the observer's gender does not determine significant differences, by memory, men matched the color of reference test more poorly than did women (P = 0.0), independently of age, color and delay time, especially for bluish green, violet, and pink. (C) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.