Surface color is the most important quality factor for the grade evaluation of cherry tomato. Color is one of the representative indicators for the maturity which is closely related to the internal quality of cherry tomato, such as firmness, sugar content, and acidity. This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between surface color and internal quality of cherry tomatoes harvested from both hydroponic and soil culture at different ripening stages. To calculate the color values of cherry tomatoes an automatic color imaging system was constructed. A specially designed image processing algorithm for the color measurement was developed. The color values of L*, a*, b* were calculated from the initial color values of RGB and then compared with the internal quality. Statistical analyses indicated that the internal quality was more highly correlated with the surface color than size of cherry tomatoes. Color image features were also investigated to detect external damage of cherry tomatoes. The value of (R value - R mean value)/R mean value was the most effective image feature for the detection of damaged areas on the surface of cherry tomatoes. The results of this study demonstrated the feasibility of color sorting process as an alternative of the conventional drum type size sorting system for cherry tomato industry.