The death-toll of the 1970 Tonghai earthquake in Yunnan province is the largest only after the Tangshan earthquake and the Wenchuan earthquake since 1949. As it occurred in a particular historical period, the history of the earthquake was questioned by the society and media, and some views were put forward. In this paper, aiming at disaster losses, relief efforts, reconstruction of the earthquake and other related problems, we attempted to draw a conclusion consistent with the historical situation by investigating and analyzing the documents, archives and statistical data.