The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and grammatical knowledge) and cognitive ability (non-verbal problem solving ability and capacity of working memory) can influence the listening comprehension ability in Japanese. Thirty-eight intermediate and advanced Chinese learners, studying Japanese as a foreign language, participated in the study. A multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship among performances in the following tests: listening comprehension test, vocabulary test, grammatical test, intelligence test, and listening span test. Major findings were as follows:(1) Auditory vocabulary knowledge strongly predicts the listening comprehension ability; There is a possibility that it is also predicted by capacity of working memory.(2) Non-verbal problem solving ability and grammatical knowledge did not predict the listening comprehension ability almost at all.