A device for detecting the color of leather hides, which is installable on machines and/or in plants for processing and/or managing leather hides, comprising: - a surface for supporting at least one leather hide of which the color is to be detected, - a light source prepared to emit a light radiation of known spectral composition onto the leather hide supported on said surface, - an optical sensor prepared to capture the light radiation which is emitted from said light source and is reflected from said leather hide, - means positioned at said optical sensor, for keeping the distance constant between said optical sensor and said leather hide supported on said surface, - optical filtration means associated with said optical sensor to extract the values of the chromatic components of said light radiation captured by said optical sensor, - a processing unit which receives the values of said chromatic components and is configured to compare them with preset reference values and/or to calculate and identify the corresponding color, and wherein: - there is loaded and executed, inside the processing unit, a software for calculating and identifying the corresponding color of said leather hide according to the detections made by means of the sensor on the leather hide itself, said software also being configured to execute processing aiming to minimize, and preferably eliminate, the influence of the variations of texture and/or of the presence of creases or surface defects which inevitably are present on said leather hide of which the color is to be detected, - said means arranged at said optical sensor, for keeping the distance constant between said leather hide and said optical sensor, comprise at least one element for stretching out and keeping said leather hide uniformly in contact with said supporting surface. - a surface for supporting at least one leather hide of which the color is to be detected, - a light source prepared to emit a light radiation of known spectral composition onto the leather hide supported on said surface, - an optical sensor prepared to capture the light radiation which is emitted from said light source and is reflected from said leather hide, - means positioned at said optical sensor, for keeping the distance constant between said optical sensor and said leather hide supported on said surface, - optical filtration means associated with said optical sensor to extract the values of the chromatic components of said light radiation captured by said optical sensor, - a processing unit which receives the values of said chromatic components and is configured to compare them with preset reference values and/or to calculate and identify the corresponding color, and wherein: - there is loaded and executed, inside the processing unit, a software for calculating and identifying the corresponding color of said leather hide according to the detections made by means of the sensor on the leather hide itself, said software also being configured to execute processing aiming to minimize, and preferably eliminate, the influence of the variations of texture and/or of the presence of creases or surface defects which inevitably are present on said leather hide of which the color is to be detected, - said means arranged at said optical sensor, for keeping the distance constant between said leather hide and said optical sensor, comprise at least one element for stretching out and keeping said leather hide uniformly in contact with said supporting surface.