The fundamental problems of equivalent roughness in the kinematic runoff model are investigated using the data in the Ochouzu mountainous basin with the area of 0.095 km^2. The characteristics of equivalent roughness in the kinematic runoff model are summarized as follows: 1. The methods for estimating effective rainfall have direct effects upon a value of equivalent roughness. The difference of the equivalent roughness obtained from these methods is about a figure. 2. The value of the equivalent roughness also varies with a change in the runoff scale. A correlation was found between the equivalent roughness and the peak ratio of saturated basin area adopted as an index of the runoff scale, 3. It is of importance to standardize the application method of the kinematic runoff model in determining the equivalent roughness.