R&D tax credits can reduce R&D cost of enterprises and improve efficiency of investments. Current literature estimates the effectiveness of R&D tax credit on innovation in different countries or areas and has no consistent answer. China has adopted R&D tax credit in recent years, but the policy effect is still unclear. The research uses the data of China’s listed companies from 2010 to 2012, explores the distribution mechanisms of tax credits, and evaluates its effectiveness on R&D investment. The results indicate that firms with short listed age, high autonomy in management, large scale of employees and located in high marketization area have higher probabilities to obtain R&D tax credits. On average, R&D tax credit facilitates firm’s R&D investment, and the results are consistent in manufacturing industries. But R&D tax credit has no significant impact on R&D investment in information technology and scientific service industries.