It is a daunting challenge and an innovation as well for social work intervention in the field of social assistance in China. The relevant international experience of social work intervention in social assistance indicates several points：First，the involvement of social work in social assistance is related with public’s perceptions on social assistance；Second，theoretically and practically，social work can intervene in social assistance from three approaches；Third，social workers can play different roles in social assistance with integrated and separated service delivery models；Fourth，there is still no confirmed conclusion on the effect of social work intervention in social assistance. Base on these international experience，the authors discuss some implications for introducing social work in social assistance in China and suggest potential measures to be considered in future.