Abstract: Inference of the goal-directed action is the foundation of most social cognition. Infants focus selectively on the behaviors that are relevant to the actor’s underlying intention when they are 6 months old. However, it is controversial that infant’s understanding of the goal-directed action is based on the experience or innate mechanism. Some researchers insist that the theory of mind roots from the understanding of the goal-directed action. Besides, inference of the goal-directed action is the base of language acquisition. For children, language acquisition is an intentional symbol connecting words and objects. The capability of intention understanding limits infinite possibilities of word-object association.

Key words: infants, intention, action, theory of mind, language acquisition