Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify effective lighting criteria in the museum from two theoretical and practical points of view. Design/methodology/approach Assessment of theoretical and practical weight of criteria was taken with the aim of concurrent attention in scientific and executive. Finally, ten effective criteria were identified by the Pareto chart. Findings The findings of this study represents a centralized reference source of the most important criteria and also effective guidance to improve the lighting quality and effective guideline to improve the lighting quality and operational fluency. Practical implications The paper can help the lighting experts, contemporary designers and future researchers to enhance the lighting function in art museums and design based on needs as well as up-to-date techniques. Originality/value Lighting as a fundamental element in the existing art museum has a significant impact on the better understanding of the artworks by the viewers. On the other hand, according to the importance of protecting valuable museum artefacts, lighting can have an effective or destructive impact on them directly. But with consideration of different museum lighting, there is a large range of effective lighting criteria that can choose the right methods harder.