Abstract: Porridge relief was one important famine relief measure in China，and the practice of porridge relief was a crucial part of the traditional Chinese famine relief system． As one additional famine relief measure in Qing dynasty，the porridge relief practice played an active role in disaster relief and in feeding the poor． A more comprehensive porridge relief practice was implemented during the Qianlong reign ( 1736- 95) ，and it exerted a positive effect in reliving the famine victims． However，due to bureaucratic corruption，inflexible system and management deficiencies，there were many problems in porridge relief， which leaded to the death of famine refugees in large numbers; the uneven distribution of porridge factories also in practice impaired the social effects of porridge relief; thirdly，the relief of porridge charged for free had a negative impact on the public mentality． All of the above resulted in a great deficit of social effects of this most comprehensive famine relief practice．