清代功牌是政府颁发给有功人员的一种奖励凭证。终清一代，功牌分为五等；嘉庆朝以前，功牌有普通的战功功牌与越众前驱、本旗前进、执纛、水战登舟等几项特殊功牌之分；嘉庆朝以降，功牌等第品级化，功牌种类已无普通与特殊之别。不同时期，清代功牌式样有所不同。清前期，功牌的授予对象为八旗有功官兵； 清后期，功牌的授予已面向社会各界人士。清代功牌的颁赏权，经历了一个由中央下移到地方的转变。在官兵及家属抚恤、仕途升迁、差徭摊派、户籍变更等方面，清廷给予得有功牌人员诸多优待。

Meritorious service awards in the Qing dynasty were reward certificates that were issued to government personnel who rendered extraordinary service． The awards had five levels which were the first to the fifth level prior to the Jiaqing reign，and there were two types，the ordinary awards for military achievements and the special awards． The latter included the“charge”medal，the“forward”medal，the “carry flag forward “medal and the“naval war”medal． Beginning in the Jiaqing era，the medal ranks were in accord with the last five official ranks and the medals did not differ in kind． Medals changed in the material，size and other aspects in different periods of the Qing dynasty． Medals were issued to Eight Banners military officers and soldiers in the early Qing dynasty but they were issued to people from all circles in the later Qing dynasty． The Ministry of War conferred the medals before the Xianfeng reign．The power of awarding medals devolved from the central to the local authorities in the Qing dynasty． In addition，the Qing government gave medal winners preferences in pension for officers and soldiers and their families，promotion，corvee，and household registration．