To achieve an effective phase unwrapping for hue-based fringe projection profilometry, this paper proposes a hue-indexing-based absolute phase retrieval method using a discrete hue sequence. First, the hue component is extracted as the wrapped phase for 3D reconstruction by projecting a programmed hue fringe pattern. Afterward, a hue-indexing sequence with a random combination of six unique hues from the hue map is designed for hue unwrapping. By assigning a hue index of the fringe geometric center, the defocusing effect in the hue unwrapping is corrected, where the fringe order of the wrapped hue is then uniquely identified. The simulations show that the root mean square (RMS) of the residual error is 2.2185×10-4 r a d, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is further verified through experiments using a plaster statue and a compressor blade. The measurement comparison of the proposed method and the coordinate measuring machine is provided, where the RMS error of the measured deviation is 4.09×10-2 m m.