The purpose of this study was to inv estigate the effect of mother's lapping on imitation of facial gestures in early infancy. In Exp. 1, 1-, 3-, 7-, month old infants were presented mouth openings and tongue protrusions by the experimenter, on the condition of being whether on their mother's lap or alone or on a stranger's lap. The result showed that imitations appeared at 1 month, and reached its peak at 3 months, then decreased at 7 months. Concerning the mother's presence on imitation, 3-, and 7-, month old infants revealed more imitations on their mother's lap than alone or on a stranger's lap. In Exp. 2, 4-, 7-, 10-, month old infants were presented with the same gestures under the condion of being whether they were on their mother's lap or beside one's mother without touching. The result showed that the mother's lapping was more efficient than any other condition. It was suggested that the facial imitation is closely related to the hapto-postural recognition of attachment which is based on socio-emotional communication.