Abstract: Central government and local governments differ in government performance, which can influence the rank differentiation of government legitimacy level according to public psychology. There are two influencing mechanisms: the spatial-tempor al separation between decision performance and executive performance, m anagement of public crisis. By virtue of the two mechanisms, the public tend to think that central government performs better than local governments do. Thus ce ntral government can obtain more legitimacy from government performance than loc al governments, which may intensify and expand the rank differentiation of gover nment legitimacy level.