The death penalty is involved in the most severe criminal offenses. Holding public hearing in these cases seems to be the best way to guarantee judicial fairness. A public hearing in death penalty cases is of important significance in safeguarding judicial fairness and protecting human rights, which has attracted a high level of attention domestically and internationally. This paper interprets the requirements of the United Nations' related agencies for the public hearing of death penalty cases, defines the nature of public hearing in the aspects of rights and obligations, analyzes the special nature of the requirements for the public hearing of death penalty cases, introduces some practices and issues of the public hearing of death penalty cases in foreign countries, analyzes China's present practice of the pubic hearing of death penalty cases and puts forward some suggestions and channels to realize it.