Root restriction was applied to ‘Summer black’ grape (Vitis vinifera L. 9 Vitis labrusca L.) to investigate its effect on anthocyanin biosynthesis in grape berry during development. Anthocyanin composition and expression patterns of 16 genes in anthocyanin pathway were thus analyzed. The results showed that the anthocyanin levels in berry skin were significantly increased and the anthocyanin profile was enriched. Gene expression pattern revealed that the increased anthocyanins coincide with the up-regulated expression of all 16 genes investigated, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, 4-coumarate CoA ligase, chalcone synthase 1, chalcone synthase 2, chalcone synthase 3, chalcone isomerase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase 1, flavanone 3-hydroxylase 2, flavonoid 30-hydroxylase (F30H), flavonoid 30,50-hydroxylase (F3050H), di-hydroflavonol 4-reductase, leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, O-methyltransferases (OMT), UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (3GT), UDP-glucose:flavonoid 5-O-glucosyltransferase (5GT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). The increased total anthocyanins predominantly resulted from the increase of tri-hydroxylated, methoxylated and monoglycosylated rather than di-hydroxylated, non-methoxylated, and di-glycosylated forms, which might be due to the differential regulation of F3050H/F30H, OMT and 3GT, respectively.