Abstract: With the rapid developing of internet tecnologies, the networking era has already come, and people have got more involved in the internet. The internet plays a vital role in every aspect of social lives, and social work is also no exception. The communications without physical bodies in cyber space has become more and more popular, and this presents the challenges for traditional social work services in China. The theories and practices of western internet social work have provided the methods and experiences for Chinese internet social work and the social problems emerged in cyberspace cannot be easily solved through traditional social work methods. As a result, the new means of "internet plus social work services" have to come into being. "Internet social work" is not only an active response to the new problems in this era, but also the urgent need of social work discipline to improve itself.

Key words: the networking era, the communications without physical bodies, internet social work