Abstract: The modern commercial registration is an information publicity mechanism by which a country confirms the qualifications of commercial subjects and announces the data relevant to commercial subjects. Through an analysis of the commercial registration with the laweconomics principles， it can be found that the commercial registration is characterized by the mechanisms of information economics and game theory. As a framework of information transfer and cooperative game， the commercial registration embodies the economic attributes， and possesses such economic functions as providing information services， maintaining market security as well as improving transactional efficiency. From the perspective of social contract theory， the commercial registration contains such basic properties of a social contract as compulsory contracting obligations， statutory standard terms， principles of good faith and registration validity. In perfecting the commercial registration legislation， China should be more concerned about its information publicity function so as to guarantee transactional security and improve market efficiency.

Key words: commercial registration, information economics, game theory, social contract