The Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368) was an empire established by the invasion of pastoral nomads into the Central Plain of China. The Han Chinese culture was not valued at that time. Therefore, inkstones were neglected by government officials and nobles. Only southern Han Chinese and the general public used inkstones. As a result, information about inkstones from the Yuan Dynasty was inadequate. The identification mainly depended on whether the inkstones had the ornaments from the Yuan period.

During the Yuan Dynasty, dragons were only portrayed from the sides, different from those from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Blue-and-white porcelain started to flourish in the Yuan Dynasty but the artworks were not of high quality. The production of porcelain inkstones were not sophisticated as well.