The objective was to study the effects of sulfite soaking, blanching pretreatments and drying methods on sulfur dioxide residue and color of dried day-lily products. The results showed that the four drying processes (sun drying, sun drying with hot air drying, hot air drying and freeze drying) led to appreciably different results, where the freeze-dried day-lily was with the best color, but overall the one dried by sun with hot air was with the best quality. Comparing the results from the three blanching methods (boiling water, steam and microwave), the boiling water blanched day-lily was with the lowest sulfur dioxide residue, but with dark brown color. After three-month storage, the residue of sulfur dioxide of the dried day-lily products were significantly reduced; moreover, the color of dried day-lily pretreated by blanching became much darker than the control without any pretreatment.