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The mineral chemistry of thirteen trioctahedral chlorite samples from four regions in northwestern China, having a wide range of Fe and Mg contents and relatively constant Al and Si contents, were studied via raman spectroscopy, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and electron - probe microanalysis. Five absorption features of the twenty samples near 4525, 4440, 4350, 4270 and 4180 cm−1 were observed, and two diagnostic features at 4440 and 4270 cm−1 were recognized. Assignments of the two diagnostic features were made for two combination bands ((ν+δ)(AlAl)O−OH and (ν+δ)(SiAl)O−OH) by regression with Raman fundamental absorptions. Furthermore, the determinant factors of the NIR band position were found by comparing the band positions with relative components. The results showed that Fe2+/(Fe2++Mg) values are negatively correlated with the two NIR combination bands. The findings provide an interpretation of the NIR band formation and demonstrate a simple way to use NIR spectroscopy to discriminate between chlorites with different components. More importantly, a simple example of mapping Fe-rich and Mg-rich chlorites were executed using remote sensing data based on this theory. The spectroscopic detection of mineral chemical variations in chlorites provides geologists with a tool with which to collect information on hydrothermal alteration zones from hyperspectral-resolution remote sensing data.