We tested the effects of food tannin and saponin on diet selection of mice(Mus musculus domesticus) by using natural seeds and artificial food with different amount of tannin or saponin.We also investigated the effects of feeding experiences on diet selection.The results showed that:(1) regardless of feeding experiences,mice preferred to consume more seeds with lower tannin(i.e.Castanea henryi) or saponin(i.e.Arachis hypogaea) over those with high tannin(i.e.Quercus variabilis) or saponin(i.e.Camelia oleifera);(2) feeding experiences for mice could enhance its ability to identify tannin or saponin levels in seeds,resulting in less food intake;and(3) food intake of mice significantly decreased with the increase of food tannin or saponin level.Our study indicates that food tannin or saponin can highly influence food selection by animals and feeding experiences can promote the animals to identify and use different kinds of food.