Quality Management Practice (QMP),is a set of practices and measures that firms adopt to accomplish quality goals and plays a key role in improving business performance and competitiveness . To explore the internal mechanism of the impact of QMP on business performance,Flynn et al . have classified QMP into soft factors and hard factors . The former focuses on measures related to non-mechanism and social behaviors and others,while the latter focuses on measures related to mechanism,process and technology and others . Though some studies have shown that both soft and hard elements of QMP affect performance,controversy remains on their functional mechanism . Moreover,there has been little research done on the effect of firm characteristics on QMP and performance . This research systematically investigates the constitution of the soft and hard elements of QMP based on Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Criteria . Based on an empirical study of 424 manufacturing companies in Zhejiang province,this paper examines the relationship between QMP and performance with firm characteristics as a variant . We make use of spssmaro script which is developed by Preacher to test the mediating effect of quality performance and by the aid of sub-group regression we examine the moderating effects of firm characteristics as a variant . The results indicate that soft and hard elements of QMP are not only positively associated with firm performance,but also have an indirect effect on firm performance through quality performance . Through the comparison test of sub-group regression coefficient,we found that :(1) Compared with the effect on smaller firms,the QMP has a greater significant moderating effect on the firm performance of larger firms . (2) Firm size significantly moderates the relationship between QMP and firm performance .(3) The implementation time of QMP has a significant effect on the relationship between QMP and performance . The earlier it implemented,the better the performance of the firm . (4) The differences of QMP's moderating effect on performances of publicly-owned firms and private firms,and on performances of capital-intensive firms and labour-intensive firms are not significant . The key implications of these results are that compared to developed countries,firm size has different effects on manufacturing companies . Therefore domestic manufacturing companies need to adjust the implementation of QMP based on the firm's characteristics . There is no significant relation between the nature of the firm and the degree of capital intensity on the relationship between QMP and firm performance . This confirms that QMP has a certain″universality″i n the context of China .