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Melanin is a natural pigment with great development potential as a healthful food colorant. In this study, extraction conditions of natural melanin from black tea leaves were investigated. Temperature, duration and liquid-solid ratio were chosen to optimize extraction conditions using response surface methodology (RSM). The Box-Behnken experimental results showed the optimum extraction conditions as follows: a temperature of 97.92oC, a duration of 44.93 min and a liquid-solid ratio of 106.76 ml/g. Under these conditions, the maximal melanin yield was 271.40 mg/100 g. The results of this study showed that black tea leaves could be used as a good source of the new-type natural melanin.