There is an emerging body of research focusing on the positive and negative effects of sacrifice on relationship quality, but few of them have investigated the effects of the inequity of sacrifice. In the light of social exchange theory and equity theory, this study examines the roles inequity of sacrifice plays in marital satisfaction in China. Based on the questionnaires completed by 115 Chinese young couples, we find that wives’ perceived inequity of sacrifice, rather than husbands’ perceived inequity or the actual inequity of sacrifice, is predictive to both spouses’ marital satisfaction. In addition, wives’ perceived overbenefit positively predicts, while underbenefit negatively predicts both spouses’ marital satisfaction, which means when wives perceive their husbands’ sacrifice more than themselves, both of them have higher satisfaction. In accordance with social exchange theory but not equity theory, our findings highlight the important and subtle roles perceived inequity of sacrifice behaviours plays in the marriages of Chinese young couples. Practitioner points The importance of perceived inequity implies that clients’ perceptions should be paid more attention than the content of their stories The strong predictive power of wives’ but not husbands’ perceived inequity suggests we should keep gender difference in mind when working with couples, especially young couples Young couples may care about their own advantages more than the equity of their relationship, which should be accommodated in clinical work