Purpose – In the hope to obtaining an in-depth understanding of the corporate social responsibility of the Chinese mining industry, one of the high risk industries in China, the study investigates the two big incidents in the industry, namely the 2010 Zijin Mining Group ltd. water pollution and the 2011 ConocoPhillips China Inc. Bohai bay oil spill. The study focuses on the analysis of the two companies’ CSR disclosure and CSR performance before and after the incidents. This thesis intends to present the two companies’ CSR reporting and performance as typical examples of CSR of Chinese mining companies, and to compare their differences and explain the reasons for different CSR disclosure and government responses from the governance perspective under social accounting theories. Methodology – The study employs content analysis to study the two companies’ CSR disclosure in response to the major incident. The two companies’ corporate governance and the government’s responses to their incidents are also compared in content to explore the reasons for different CSR disclosure and government response. Findings – Both companies make positive CSR disclosure after the major incidents, however there are differences in terms of response time period, penalties and compensation. The differences can be explained from the corporate governance perspective under social accounting theories. Originality/value - The practical value of the study aims at presenting a real picture of Chinese companies’ CSR practice through a typical comparison of two companies’ CSR disclosure and government responses after major incidents, and exploring the reasons for the differences. It also calls academia’s attention to Chinese companies’ CSR issues.