中小企业在社会经济中占据着重要地位，世界上很多国家都非常重视中小企业的发展，但是由于自身的特点，融资难一直困扰着中小企业。为有效解决这一问题，各国纷纷建立了中小企业信用担保体系，为中小企业提供信用支持。日本在上世纪三十年代，开始建立针对中小企业的信用补完制度；美国也在五十年代建立小企业局，为中小企业提供信用支持。我国从1998年开始中小企业信用担保体系建设的试点工作，经过十几年的发展，取得了一些成绩，但同时也暴露了很多的问题。本文通过我国和日本、美国等发达国家和地区的信用担保体系建设的比较，以求借鉴其成功经验，为我国的中小企业信用担保体系建设服务。本文首先分析了信用担保的理论基础，指出信用担保体系存在的经济合理性，并通过中小企业信用担保活动的外部性分析，提出政府应该在中小企业信用担保体系建设中发挥积极作用。然后，比较了我国中小企业信用担保体系同日本、美国等发达国家卓有成效的担保体系的差异，并以案例的形式将我国浙江省和台湾省的中小企业信用担保体系建设情况展开对比分析，用事实说明两地信用担保体系的差距。最后就我国担保体系所存在的问题，提出具体的建议。

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) played an important role in social-economic activities. Many countries have attached great importance to the development of SMEs, but due to its own characteristics, small and medium-sized enterprises face financing difficulties. To solve these problems effectively, many countries have set up credit guarantee systems to provide credit support for SMEs. Japan built credit-completion system for SMEs in the 1930s; United States also established Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide credit support for SMEs in 1953. In 1998, China began to establish SME credit guarantee system. After ten years of development, has made some achievements, but also faced a lot of problems. By comparing the credit guarantee system in China with those in Japan, the United States and other developed countries, we want to learn from these counties.This paper first analyzes the theory of the credit guarantee, and externalities of the SME credit guarantee activities, so the Government should play an important role in the construction of the SME credit guarantee system. Then, we compare the difference of China's SME credit guarantee system with Japan, the United States and other developed countries. Finally, we discuss problems in China's guarantee system, and provide some concrete suggestions.