Abstract:The absorptive capacity of knowledge plays an important role in corporation’s innovation performance. Corporation’s knowledge basic theory thinks that organizations only constantly develop and absorb the external social capital to improve their innovation performance, and in this way, it can maintain the sustaining competitive advantage. Based on corporation’s knowledge basic theory, this paper makes an empirical analysis of 205 samples, and explores corporate social capital's impact on innovation performance under the mediation effect of knowledge’s absorptive capacity. Empirical study results show that: (1) there is positive correlation between the knowledge’s absorptive capacity and corporation’s innovation performance; (2) the transverse and vertical relationship capital of corporate social capital is positively correlated with innovation performance; the direct impact of oblique relationship capital on corporation’s innovation performance is U shape (3) there is positive correlation between the three dimensions of social capital ( transverse, vertical and oblique relationship capital) and knowledge’s absorptive capacity; (4) the knowledge’s absorptive capacity plays a part role of mediation effect between corporate social capital and innovation performance. This paper studies provide suggestions and reference for corporation on how to use social capital to improve innovation performance.