There is a significant amount of famous market-oriented towns in Jiangsu Province，many of which have clear specialties and widespread influence because of the scale of their market transactions. As the wave of building “Characteristic Towns” advancing，the market-oriented towns started to transform into this new type. Compared to the qualifications of characteristic towns，the market-oriented towns have some obvious features to be noticed：prosperous yet structurally outdated industries，flourishing but spatially disordered markets，and relatively poor public services. Therefore，to resolve these issues and thus cultivate a number of characteristic towns，the towns have to upgrade their goals and functions in the city planning，focus on improving their environments，and strengthen their public services.