Peace lily plant leaves turning yellow?

Peace lily yellow leaves usually mean watering or light stress, although one oldest lower leaf yellowing slowly can be normal turnover.

Answer what you can see

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Push a finger two inches into the soil. What does it feel like?

Which leaves are affected?

Where does it live?

How fast did this happen?

Some answer sets overlap: overwatering and low light can both give damp soil with older or all-over yellowing, and pests and fertilizer or spray damage can both affect new growth; use the root, drainage, light-position, residue, and close leaf checks to tell them apart.

The causes in full

Overwatering or root rotMOST COMMON

How to tell
Check whether the pot has drainage, the saucer is holding water, the soil smells sour, or roots you can see at the drainage holes look brown and mushy instead of firm and pale.

What to do
If the top 2 inches still feel damp or wet, withhold water until the top 2 inches feel dry, then water only enough that excess drains out. Empty any saucer or outer pot, and if roots are mushy, trim the rotten parts and repot into fresh potting mix in a pot with drainage holes.

Underwatering or very dry indoor airCOMMON

How to tell
The pot feels light, the soil has shrunk from the pot edge, leaves may droop before yellowing, and the plant may be near a heater, vent, or very dry room air.

What to do
If the top 2 inches feel dry, water slowly until water runs from the drainage holes; if the mix is also pulling from the pot, stand the pot in water for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain it fully. Move it away from heaters or dry air blasts.

Low light keeping the soil dampCOMMON

How to tell
The plant is far from a window or in a dim corner, growth is slow, and the soil stays damp for many days after watering.

What to do
Move it to bright but indirect light, such as near a window with no direct sun on the leaves. If the top 2 inches still feel damp or wet, withhold water until the top 2 inches feel dry.

Direct sun, hot glass, or cold window shockLESS COMMON

How to tell
Yellowing is strongest on the side facing the window, especially after strong sun through glass, a hot windowsill, or a cold night against the glass.

What to do
Move the plant out of direct sun and away from hot or cold glass; bright indirect light is the goal. Only water if the top 2 inches feel dry, because window shock can look like water stress even when the soil is still damp.

Pests: spider mites, mealybugs, or scaleLESS COMMON

How to tell
Look closely under leaves, along the leaf stems, and where leaves meet stems for fine webbing, white cottony bits, sticky shine, or small brown bumps that scrape off.

What to do
Isolate the plant, wipe leaves and stems clean with a damp cloth, and use a labelled insecticidal soap, not dish soap, repeating as the label directs. Remove badly yellowed leaves once the pest problem is under control.

Fertilizer salt, hard-water mineral, or leaf-spray damageLESS COMMON

How to tell
Suspect this if yellowing started after feeding, using a shine spray or pesticide spray, or if there is white crust on the soil or pot rim and no pests are visible.

What to do
Stop fertilizing and stop using leaf-shine or other sprays on the leaves. If the top 2 inches feel dry, flush the potting mix with room-temperature water and let it drain fully; if the top 2 inches are damp, wait until they feel dry before flushing.

Will it recover?

Yellow peace lily leaves usually will not turn green again; remove them after they are mostly yellow, and judge recovery by healthy new growth, while remembering that one oldest lower leaf yellowing slowly can be normal.

Stopping it happening again

Keep the plant in bright indirect light, away from direct glass, vents, and cold draughts, in a pot with drainage, and water only when the top 2 inches of potting mix feel dry while checking leaves regularly for pests and avoiding heavy fertilizer or leaf sprays.