Abstract: The executive compensation of listed companies is characterized by secret stickiness, that is, the increase of salaries accompanied with the growth of operating performance is significantly higher than the decrease of salaries caused by the dropping of companies’ performance. This paper uses statistical regression method to analyze the data of 2475 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share market. By comparing the pay-performance stickiness of listed companies with different forms of ownership, this paper demonstrates that the pay-performance stickiness of state-owned companies is significantly stronger than that of private-owned companies. This study offers reference for further optimization for executives’ performance appraisal system in state-owned companies.