Abstract: The punitive compensation has the important theory and practical significance in the coal mine safety responsibility.From the character of the punitive responsibility,it is more like economic responsibility than civil responsibility.We can resolve theoretical contradictions related with the punitive responsibility while we define the.punitive responsibility as economic responsibility.Whether the punitive responsibility system can play its role in repressing mine disaster or not to be decided by whether we can solve each kind of question which possibly meets in the system design.