Spurious correlation is a classic statistical pitfall pervasive to many disciplines including geography. Although methods of calculating the spurious correlation between two variables possessing a common element in the form of sum, ratio, or product have been developed for a long time, controversial assertions on whether the spurious correlation should be treated or ignored are still prevalent. In this study, we examined this well-known but intriguing issue using the data representing two nonindependent variables, event area-weighted suspended sediment yield (SSYe) and event mean runoff depth (h). By transferring the correlation between SSYe and h to that between suspended sediment transport rate (Qs) and water discharge (Q), we developed a new method of determining whether Qs is truly correlated to Q. The method involves calculating coefficients of spurious correlation () and the associated “pure” spurious correlation (), a hypothesis test, and regression between and . Our analysis showed that (1) there exists a true correlation between SSYe and h and (2) the spurious correlation is strongly related to the variability of the variables. We then proposed a general rule stating that the apparent spurious correlation between two variables could be ignored if the two have a true causal relation. At last, we distinguished the difference between spurious correlation and spurious reference.