In the view of Marx, the essence of the working class is the proletariat, the main body of the modern socialist movement and the concept of a ″overall worker″. Under the socialist system, the working class has become a ″productive class″ and has the characteristics of politics, integrity and advanced nature. From the aspect of extension, the contemporary Chinese working class is a broad social subject category with complex structure and various levels. Its main feature is that under the condition of market economy the distribution of the working class is complicated by a single trend. The ranks of the working class have grown and their functions are increasing. The working class structure has a stratification and reorganization. The class consciousness of the working class is diversified and individualized. We should enhance the ability of the state to control and regulate the social transformation and development, consolidate and expand the party′s class base, and promote the unity and harmony of the working class to form a high unity of political and cultural identity.