The dissertation studies the Chinese film censorship after the Cultural Revolution in 1976 and its impacts on Chinese cinema. I propose a new definition for censorship by arguing that censorship, as an integral part of hegemony, rules art works not only by repressing, but also by producing its own discourse that influences the authors, artworks and the public opinions. Based on the new definition, I study the scope, efficacy, mechanism of censorship and its impact on the subject being censored. Then the dissertation reviews the changes in Chinese film censorship after the Cultural Revolution. I argue that the Chinese film censorship after 1976 undertakes a new task of defending the CCP's ideological governance and ensuring the development of Chinese film industry. The censorship's new objective determines the outlook of Chinese cinema. After that, the dissertation examines the impact of Chinese film censorship on Chinese cinema with three case studies, including films concerning politically sensitive topics, the state sponsored leitmotif film and the entertainment film exemplified by the Chinese wuxia, or the action film. In the concluding chapter, the dissertation predicts the future direction of Chinese film censorship by analyzing some of the latest changes in Chinese film industry.