一个更简洁的解决方案是设置背景色并使用蒙版图像。

#container div a {
  background-color: blue;
  transition: background 0.2s linear;
  width: 200px;
  height: 150px;
  mask-image: radial-gradient(circle at 50% 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .7), rgba(0, 0, 0, .4));
}

#container div a:hover { 
  background-color: red;
}

尝试使用:before和:after (ie9+)

#wrapper{
    width:400px;
    height:400px;
    margin:0 auto;
    border: 1px #000 solid;
    position:relative;}
#wrapper:after,
#wrapper:before{
    position:absolute;
    top:0;
    left:0;
    width:100%;
    height:100%;
    content:'';
    background: #1e5799;
    background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #1e5799 0%, #2989d8 50%, #207cca 51%, #7db9e8 100%);
    background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,#1e5799), color-stop(50%,#2989d8), color-stop(51%,#207cca), color-stop(100%,#7db9e8));
    background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #1e5799 0%,#2989d8 50%,#207cca 51%,#7db9e8 100%);
    background: -o-linear-gradient(top, #1e5799 0%,#2989d8 50%,#207cca 51%,#7db9e8 100%);
    background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #1e5799 0%,#2989d8 50%,#207cca 51%,#7db9e8 100%);
    background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #1e5799 0%,#2989d8 50%,#207cca 51%,#7db9e8 100%);
    opacity:1;
    z-index:-1;
    -webkit-transition: all 2s ease-out;
    -moz-transition: all 2s ease-out;
    -ms-transition: all 2s ease-out;
    -o-transition: all 2s ease-out;
    transition: all 2s ease-out;
}
#wrapper:after{
    opacity:0;
    background: #87e0fd;
    background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #87e0fd 0%, #53cbf1 40%, #05abe0 100%);
    background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,#87e0fd), color-stop(40%,#53cbf1), color-stop(100%,#05abe0));
    background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #87e0fd 0%,#53cbf1 40%,#05abe0 100%);
    background: -o-linear-gradient(top, #87e0fd 0%,#53cbf1 40%,#05abe0 100%);
    background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #87e0fd 0%,#53cbf1 40%,#05abe0 100%);
    background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #87e0fd 0%,#53cbf1 40%,#05abe0 100%);
}
#wrapper:hover:before{opacity:0;}
#wrapper:hover:after{opacity:1;}

在下面的例子中，一个锚标记有一个子标记和一个孙子标记。孙子有远背景梯度。近背景中的子元素是透明的，但是有渐变要过渡。在悬停时，子物体的不透明度在1秒内从0过渡到1。

下面是CSS:

.bkgrndfar {
  position:absolute;
  top:0;
  left:0;
  z-index:-2;
  height:100%;
  width:100%;
  background:linear-gradient(#eee, #aaa);
}

.bkgrndnear {
  position:absolute;
  top:0;
  left:0;
  height:100%;
  width:100%;
  background:radial-gradient(at 50% 50%, blue 1%, aqua 100%);
  opacity:0;
  transition: opacity 1s;
}

a.menulnk {
  position:relative;
  text-decoration:none;
  color:#333;
  padding: 0 20px;
  text-align:center;
  line-height:27px;
  float:left;
}

a.menulnk:hover {
  color:#eee;
  text-decoration:underline;
}

/* This transitions child opacity on parent hover */
a.menulnk:hover .bkgrndnear {
  opacity:1;
}

这是HTML:

<a href="#" class="menulnk">Transgradient
<div class="bkgrndfar">
  <div class="bkgrndnear">
  </div>
</div>
</a>

以上仅在最新版本的Chrome中进行测试。这些是悬停前，悬停中途和完全过渡的悬停图像:

我想让div看起来像一个3D球体，并通过颜色过渡。 我发现渐变背景色还不能过渡。 我在元素前面放置了一个径向梯度背景(使用z-index)，并带有一个过渡的固体背景。

/* overlay */
z-index : 1;
background : radial-gradient( ellipse at 25% 25%, rgba( 255, 255, 255, 0 ) 0%, rgba( 0, 0, 0, 1 ) 100% );

然后下面的div.ball:

transition : all 1s cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94);

然后改变div.ball的背景颜色，瞧!

https://codepen.io/keldon/pen/dzPxZP

一种解决方案是使用背景位置来模拟梯度过渡。 几个月前，Twitter Bootstrap就使用了这个解决方案。

更新

http://codersblock.blogspot.fr/2013/12/gradient-animation-trick.html?showComment=1390287622614

这里有一个简单的例子:

链接状态

 .btn {
  font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 12px;
  font-weight: 300;
  position: relative;
  display: inline-block;
  text-decoration: none;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 20px 40px;
  background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #50abdf, #1f78aa);
  background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0 0, 0 100%, from(#50abdf), to(#1f78aa));
  background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #50abdf, #1f78aa);
  background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #50abdf, #1f78aa);
  background-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, #50abdf, #1f78aa);
  background-repeat: repeat-x;
  filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#ff50abdf', endColorstr='#ff1f78aa', GradientType=0);
  background-repeat: repeat-y;
  background-size: 100% 90px;
  background-position: 0 -30px;
  -webkit-transition: all 0.2s linear;
     -moz-transition: all 0.2s linear;
       -o-transition: all 0.2s linear;
          transition: all 0.2s linear;
}

悬停状态

.btn:hover {
   background-position: 0 0;
}

基于你的问题中的css代码，我已经尝试代码如下，它为我工作(运行代码片段)，请自己尝试:

#container div a { display: inline-block; margin-top: 10%; padding: 1em 2em; font-size: 2em; color: #fff; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 0.3em; position: relative; background-color: #ccc; background-image: linear-gradient(to top, #C0357E, #EE5840); -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden; z-index: 1; } #container div a:after { position: absolute; content: ''; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border-radius: 0.3em; background-image: linear-gradient(to top, #6d8aa0, #343436); transition: opacity 0.5s ease-out; z-index: 2; opacity: 0; } #container div a:hover:after { opacity: 1; } #container div a span { position: relative; z-index: 3; } <div id="container"><div><a href="#"><span>Press Me</span></a></div></div>

基于你的问题中的css代码，我已经尝试代码如下，它为我工作，请自己尝试:

    #container div a {
  display: inline-block;
  margin-top: 10%;
  padding: 1em 2em;
  font-size: 2em;
  color: #fff;
  font-family: arial, sans-serif;
  text-decoration: none;
  border-radius: 0.3em;
  position: relative;
  background-color: #ccc;
  background-image: linear-gradient(to top, #C0357E, #EE5840);
  -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;
  z-index: 1;
}

#container div a:after {
  position: absolute;
  content: '';
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  border-radius: 0.3em;
  background-image: linear-gradient(to top, #6d8aa0, #343436);
  transition: opacity 0.5s ease-out;
  z-index: 2;
  opacity: 0;
}

#container div a:hover:after {
  opacity: 1;
}
#container div a span {
  position: relative;
  z-index: 3;
}

这对你有用吗? 根据您的需要更改颜色:)