In this paper a fuzzy approach for image retrieval on the basis of color features is presented. The proposal deals with vagueness in the color description and introduces the use of fuzzy database models to store and retrieve imprecise data. To face the color description, the concept of dominant fuzzy color is proposed, using linguistic labels for representing the color information in terms of hue, saturation and intensity. To deal with fuzzy data in our database model, we use a general approach which can support the manipulation of fuzzy objects in an object-relational database system. This allows the retrieval of images by performing flexible queries on the database. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.