Based on the empirical evidence of A-share listed companies in China from 2017 to 2021, this paper examines the effect of corporate ESG performance on the disclosure of key audit matters. The study finds that the worse the corporate ESG performance is, the more sufficient the key audit matters disclosed by auditors will be; specifically, the numbers of key audit matters are greater and the contents of key audit matters are more detailed. Further research shows that corporate ESG performance affects the information contents of key audit matters by revealing the corporate operational risks and information risks. Moreover, in the case that auditors have industry expertise and the proportion of media attentions is relatively high, the effect of corporate ESG performance on the disclosure of key audit matters is more obvious. This paper not only enriches the literature on economic consequences of corporate ESG performance, but also has implications for auditors to identify audit risks more accurately and provide audit services more effectively after the implementation of new auditing reporting standards.