The potentiality of the retrieval of surface reflectance using CCD camera aboard HJ-1A/B satellite was studied. It is very difficult to use dark targets in atmospheric correction due to the lack of near infrared band. The alternative normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the red/blue reflectance ratio are detected from the spectral experiment in Beijing and the Pearl River Delta. Ground-based spectral data including grass, dense vegetation, water body, soil, residential roof and bright building etc. were used to validate the surface reflectance in Beijing, and the relative error in red, blue band is under 38.7% and 37.2% respectively. Uncertainties of the surface reflectance retrievals were analyzed. The comparison of MODIS surface reflectance product showed that there is a good agreement in the dense targets, and the correlation coefficient (R2) in red, blue band is as high as 0.809 4 and 0.723 9 respectively. HJ-1-CCD data can effectively reduce pixel-mixed impact on the cement roof and bright buildings, and the inversion accuracy is higher than MODIS products.