Emerald from Malipo in Yunnan Province was studied in this paper by using electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), XRD and other technologies and, on such a basis, the characteristic features of Malipo emerald have been established: it contains two sets of trace elements (femic and alkali); the content of V₂O₃ is significantly higher than that of Cr₂O₃, which shows that V is the main element causing color; the refractive indices are No=1.584～1.586, Ne=1.576～1.579, and the specific gravity is 2.70±0.01; the isomorphous substitutions of Malipo emerald are of "octahedral-type". The mineralogical characteristics of Malipo emerald can be used to determine the origin of the emerald.