针对刑罚威慑的学理定义不明确,本文对其意蕴进行了较为全面、深入的探析。认为刑罚威慑以人的理性模式为其立论基础;是借助于刑罚的惩罚性对社会成员产生的一种抑制犯罪的心理强制;它以明文规定的刑罚为依据,是一种法律威慑;刑罚威慑是一般威慑和个别威慑的统一;刑罚的威慑作用分布于各个阶段。为了进一步深入理解刑罚威慑的意蕴,还对刑罚威慑与一般预防的含义进行了比较区分。 The definition of the theory of punishment for deterrence is not clear, this article carries on a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of its connotation. It is considered that punishment of deterrence takes the rational mode of human as the basis of its argument, and it is a kind of psychic coercion to suppress crime brought about by punitive punishment to the members of the society. It is a kind of legal deterrence based on the expressly prescribed punishment; It is the unity of general deterrence and individual deterrence; the deterrent effect of punishment is distributed in all stages. In order to further understand the implication of penalty deterrence, we also make a comparative distinction between the meaning of penalty deterrence and general prevention.