Objective To compare the advantages and values of several special staining methods of chondrocytes.Methods Twelve 7-day old healthy C57BL/6J mice were killed to obtain the cartilage tissue of the knee joint in order to isolate the chondrycytes. Type II collagen was used to assess the chondrocytes. Then the chondrocyte climbing slices were prepared. The materials were fixed, and HE staining, Safranin O-fast green staining, SA-β-gal staining and immunohistochemical staining of Type II collagen were performed and compared. Results HE staining showed clear morphology of the chondrocytes. The cell nuclei were stained blue and the cytoplasm was pink. Safranin O-fast green staining showed that the nuclei were pink and the cytoplasm green. SA-β-gal staining showed that the aging cells were green while the young cells were colorless. Immunohistochemical staining of type II collagen showed the distribution of type II collagen and they were stained brown while the cell nuclei were blue.Conclusions HE staining and safranin O-fast green staining can provide more information than the other staining techniques. SA-β-gal staining is useful in the analysis of aging chondrocytes. Immunohistochemical of type II collagen can be used to study type II collagen.