Abstract: Taking the A-share listed firms holding investment properties during 2007-2012 as the samples, this paper empirically tests the motivations and determinants of the selection of measurement models for investment property by China’s listed firms. It tries to interpret the quality and function of financial information from one aspect. The results indicate that the non-state-owned firms with higher asset-liability ratio, higher level of managerial share ownership and higher ratio of investment property tend to choose fair value measurement model, while such factors as management’s monetary compensation, earnings smoothness, capital market regulation and the activity level of real estate markets have no significant effects on the choice of measurement model for investment property.

Key words: investment property; measurement; cost model; fair value model