Abstract: The traditional view that exceeding the limit of defense time cannot be excessive defense may narrow down the scope of the application of Article 20， Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law. In the case of defending， if defenders carried out a string of counterattacks， we should adopt the principle of overall evaluation. In response to ongoing illegal harms， series of defense acts out of one successive purpose will be considered as entirety， and if the entirety exceeds necessary limits and has caused material injury， we describe it as extensive defense in criminal law. There exists violation reduction， responsibility reduction and a substantial basis for penalty reduction or exemption in extensive defense case. Based on the special structure of excessive defense in criminal law， the extensive defense case can be established only when the follow-up act alone has caused significant damage， and the rest cases are considered as justifiable defense.

Key words: excessive defense; untimely defense; extensive defense; overall evaluation; justifiable defense