The flags colors have different meanings. The green stands for fertility of the land, Gold means purity and mineral wealth and lastly red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the French.

The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961. The original flag was adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a human stick figure, a kanaga, in black, with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed due to the opposition of Islamic fundamentalists.

The flag adopted in 1959 for the federation was an imitation of the Flag of Ghana, but following the style of the French Tricolor. It was charged with a black emblem known as a kanaga, a stylized human figure. The colors were intended to reflect a unity with other African nations. After the two countries split in 1960, the flag was kept for use in Mali until March 1, 1961, when the kanaga emblem was dropped.