We propose a method for evaluating the image quality of color liquid crystal display(LCD) monitors by using the polychromatic modulation transfer function(PMTF), which is calculated from the modulation transfer function(MTF) weighted by the overall color response of the system including the test LCD monitor. We confirm that experimental results using the PMTF agree well with simulated results of the PMTF of a color LCD monitor by using three bar targets with different amplitudes and three elementary colors such as red(R), green(G), and blue(B). As a results, we should choose the PMTF instead of the white color MTF or monochromatic MTF in order to evaluate correctly the image quality of color LCD monitors.