As a special form of downward earnings management, big bath can mislead the users of accounting information. But how do auditors respond to their clients big bath behavior? Using the data of nonfinancial Ashare listed firms from 2007 to 2022, this paper examines the impact of big bath on audit pricing, and finds that big baths can significantly increase audit fees. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that big bath increases the risk of material misstatement, operating risk, regulatory risk and audit delay. Above results suggest that the effect of big bath on audit fee is due to the increased audit risk and regulatory risk faced by auditors, prompting auditors to increase audit input (to reduce audit risk) and/or charge a risk premium. Heterogeneity tests demonstrate that the relationship between big bath and audit pricing is more pronounced in stateowned companies, companies audited by “big four”, companies which are located in better legal environment regions and companies with peer investor lawsuits. This paper not only helps to understand the auditors perception and response to listed companies big bath practice, but also provides important reference for regulatory authorities to enhance the oversight of listed companies big bath accounting.