The cumulative effects of salinity and sediment concentration variation on the spectral reflectance measurement from a sediment-laden saline water was studied in the laboratory using a spectroradiometer. Reflectance is observed to be dependent on salinity concentration in addition to sediment type and concentration. It is also observed that, in general, the spectral response (i.e. per cent reflectance at different wavelengths) has a negative correlation with salinity, but a positive correlation with sediment concentration. A model for predicting the suspended sediment concentration from reflectance measurements with due involvement of the salinity variation is developed. The predicted and observed values of the sediment concentration by the presented model show good agreement.