This paper examines the asymmetry and stickiness of pay-performance sensitivity，by comparing the positive firm performance to negative firm performance and comparing the performance increase to performance decline. The main findings indicate that the connection between CEO compensation and firm performance is enhanced when firm performance is positive or increasing，while the connection becomes loosen when firm performance is negative or declining. Furthermore，the CEO compensation of SOEs and protected industries is featured with stronger asymmetry and stickiness in comparison with private firms and competitive industries. The intrinsic logic is that the market status of a firm，represented by its share-holder type or monopoly status，determines the corporate governance structure，which makes the pay-performance sensitivity asymmetrical and sticky. As a conclusion，the reform of SOEs and protected industries is needed as an important part of market economy transformation.