<p>Corporate philanthropic behavior has witnessed an increase in recent years in China due to increase in public emergencies. We conducted a literature review of the relationship between corporate philanthropic behavior and public value feedback; subsequently, we analyzed the effects and mechanisms between corporate philanthropic donation behavior and immediate public value feedback using event study analysis methods and differential models. The results show that corporate charitable donation behavior has direct and immediate negative impacts in the short term during major unexpected public events. However, when corporate charitable giving behavior arouses positive public value perceptions, it generates positive immediate value returns. Specifically, the immediate positive returns to public value perceptions are more significant for state-owned firms compared to non-state-owned firms, and for central regions compared to non-central regions. In sum, these findings extend the economic and social motivation theories of corporate philanthropic behavior, enrich research on charitable giving, public value perception, and immediate returns to corporate value, and provide decision support.</p>