Using a sample of 6787 firm-year observations for A-share firms in China from 2004 to 2009, we find strong evidence supporting the positive effects of IFRS adoption on accounting-based performance sensitivity, after controlling for firm and corporate governance characteristics. Furthermore, based on subsample analysis, we find that the positive effects of IFRS adoption on the accounting-based performance sensitivity of executive compensation occur only in regions with higher institutional quality (as measured by the level of marketization) and in firms that are more affected by the adoption (as measured by IFRS adjustments in 2006). Through subsample analyses based on income from changes in fair value and on changes in C-Score, we find that the positive effect of IFRS adoption on the accounting-based performance sensitivity of executive compensation is significant only for firms with non-zero income from changes in fair value during the post-IFRS adoption period and for firms with negative changes in C-Score after IFRS adoption. These findings support our argument that in China, the positive effect of IFRS adoption on the use of accounting performance in executive compensation is driven by the reduction in accounting conservatism associated with IFRS adoption.