Abstract: Using data from a survey conducted on the poor in Harbin, this paper compares the situation ofyoung and middle-aged poor with that of their parents, and the situation of middle-aged and elderly poorwith their children. Results show that among the parents of young and middle-aged poor, 55.6% are alsopoor; and that among the children of middle-aged and elderly poor, 65% are also poor, which meansthere is significant intergenerational transmission of poverty among the urban poor. An important feature ofthe intergenerational transmission of poverty is that the educational level of young and middle-aged poorand that of their parents are homogeneous to a large degree, as are the occupations of middle-aged andelderly poor and those of their children. It can be said that the homogeneity in educational level andoccupationl of the urban poor and their parents and children is an important factor leading to theintergenerational transmission of poverty.