Pilots' English Proficiency Examination of CAAC (PEPEC) undoubtedly has an impact on students' English learning in civil aviation field.This paper aims to explore its washback effect on students' English learning from the perspective of students' understanding on the test, their responses to the standards of the test, the test's washback effect and students' evaluation of test-preparation courses by classroom observation, questionnaire survey and interview.The findings show that PEPEC exerts a stronger positive washback effect on students' aviation English learning.