In this study, managerial discretion in 37 industries in China is measured and ranked into high, medium and low groups. The results are compared with findings from Hambrick and Abrhamson’s (1995) study in the U.S. context, and changes are examined in two dimensions of managerial discretion from 2001 to 2009. This study contributes a reliable measure of managerial discretion for future organizational and strategic studies, which can help explain the differences in managerial phenomena across different industries in China’s institutional environment.