Drawing on a case study of a three-generation family business, this paper explores the antecedents and consequences of female leadership in contemporary Chinese family business. Our findings suggest that institutional change in contemporary China affects the role of female family members in the family system, which eventually gave rise to female leadership in China's family businesses. We also propose that in comparison to male leadership, female leadership in Chinese family business is more concerned with balancing work-family conflict; more dependent upon the family's endowment of resources; and more likely to favor a participative (rather than authoritative) decision-making style.