Abstract: 【Purpose/significance】 By integrating utility theory, cognitive authority theory, the ELM model, and the appraisaltendency framework, we construct a government social media users’information acquisition utility model based on affective experi⁃ ence. This research comprehensively and systematically explores the influence mechanism of complex affective experiences on the in⁃ formation acquisition utility of government social media users.【Method/process】A theoretical model of information acquisition utility based on affective experience was generalized from multidisciplinary theories, and data were collected through questionnaires, the re⁃ search hypotheses were tested with PLS-SEM method.【Result/conclusion】The information acquisition utility of government social media users are manifest in cognitive, psychological and behavioral three dimensions, and the affective experience can be divided into two dimensions:“intimate tendency”and "emotional state"，and their influencing factors can be categorized into two paths, central path (information quality perception ) and edge path (cognitive authority with platform features), and two-path factors on the affective experience demonstrate a significant differentiation. The edge path, especially platform features, has more significant effect on users' affective experience. Affective experience has mediating effect on all three dimensions of information acquisition utility, but in differ⁃ ent ways. Cognitive authority has a direct effect on the psychological dimension, but the effect is relatively low.【Innovation/limitation】 The utility and affective experience dimensions of government social media users' information acquisition are refined, and the mecha⁃ nism of the role of complex emotions on the utility of information acquisition is explored. Follow-up research is expected to explore the complex interaction between different variables and to study the utility of government information acquisition and emotional experi⁃ ence of the "digitally disadvantaged" group.