Social memory,as people’s cognition and reconstruction of common memory,plays an important role in the process of human civilization inheritance,while archives,as an important carrier of social memory, play a key role in the practical work of constructing social memory. This paper, taking the research of archives and social memory,first of all,rom the basic concept and the combination of both the archival memory theory explains the relationship between archives and social memory and the function of archives to construct social memory,and studied the theoretical innovation significance and practical guiding significance of archives for constructing social memory,then put forward the construction of social memory need to plan as a whole theory and practice of common development. By discussing the function and value of archives based on the actual needs of social memory construction,it can promote the construction of archives and social memory to better play its social and cultural value in rich practical experience and mature theory,and is conducive to the development of social undertakings and the improvement of cultural connotation.