Abstract: This article probes into the legal status and consciousness of lower-class women in the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of Qing Dynasty ( 1796—1850 ) from the perspective of magistrates' judgments on women and women's Responding. Although women were given some special treatment by magistrates， they were not considered as people with full capacity for civil conduct. Women were still seen as men's dependents with limited legal status and rights. During the process of the trials, most magistrates did not focus on justice for women, but on correcting social customs. On the other hand, many lower-class women were clear about their legal status and had a certain legal consciousness. They communicated positively with the magistrates in plaints and confessions, and made good use of their weak position to get magistrates' sympathy, to escape punishments and to protect their interests．