Abstract: The investigation of the social networks of the people who had migrated into Xiamen revealed the impact of social mobility on social networking. The main findings include： Those from rural areas showed a larger gross volume of social networking and bigger social networks with neighbors and countrymen than those from urban areas， although the persistence of their social networks appears to be weaker than that of the latter’s; the distance of mobility correlated positively with the volume of social networking with countrymen; compared with those who had moved into higher social strata， people in lower social strata had a larger volume of social networking that was more homogeneous; number of years staying in Xiamen correlated positively with the volume of networking with relatives， persistence of the network， and occupation homogeneity; increased years of education facilitated the formation of networks with colleagues， fellow students and friends， and thus led to wider networking and better selection but weaker network persistence; the upward political mobility resulted in an increased gross volume of networking as well as the number of relationships with neighbors， fellow students and countrymen， which enhanced the homogeneity of their networks. These findings have indicated that the existing theories of foreign scholars have their limitation when applied in China. This can be attributed to the deep internalization of the kinships and regional relationships formed in the long agricultural society， the differences of the social structures between rural and urban areas， the characteristics of social mobility， the inconsistency between population urbanization and life urbanization， and the unique sociohistorical culture in China.

Key words: social mobility, social networks, sociohistorical culture