A new approach to extract knowledge from multispectral images is suggested. We describe a method to extract and optimize classification rules using fuzzy neural networks (FNNs). The FNNs consist of two stages. The first stage represents a fuzzifier block, and the second stage represents the inference engine. After training, classification rules are extracted by backtracking along the weighted paths through the FNN. The extracted rules are then optimized by use of a fuzzy associate memory bank. We use the algorithm to extract classification rules from a multispectral image obtained with a Landsat Thematic Mapper sensor. The scene represents the Mississippi River bottomland area. In order to verify the rule extraction method, measures such as the overall accuracy, producer's accuracy, user's accuracy, kappa coefficient, and fidelity are used.