The cognition of EIA (environmental impact assessment) public participation among Beijing residents was studied through questionnaire, including their understanding degree, positivity of participation, rationality, and the issue they are concerned about most. The statistical result of 1043 valid questionnaires reveals that, currently, Beijing residents’ cognition on EIA public participation is relatively high, as more than half of them understand EIA public participation to a certain extent, showing their positivity or rationality of participation, but there is still much room for improvement. Some specific proposals are raised from two aspects, comment processing and feedback, so as to improve the effectiveness of EIA public participation in feasibility.