Abstract: Based on the liability of foreignness theory and using the stepwise linear regression method， the key factors to influence the international merger and acquisition performance were studied using the examples of Chinese listed companies. The results showed that if enterprise heterogeneity and host country institutional quality etc.， are regarded as the control variables， there is an obvious negative correlation between the legal institutional distance and the international M&A performance， while the economic institutional distance and cultural distance could promote the international M&A performance. The population densities of acquirers can adjust the correlation between the institutional distance and the performance.

Key words: international M&A performance, liability of foreignness, institutional distance, information asymmetry, population density.