Consumption potential has been positively estimated under the background of aging，but the actual consumption of the elderly is limited. Based on the data from CHIP1995—2014 and CHARLS 2018，APC-Cross-Classified Random Effect Models was used to explore the effect of age，period and birth cohort on the elderly．The results found that the cohort pattern is significant and consumption advantage focuses on transitional elderly( 1940—1950s) witnessing the material wealth from nothing to something，from less to more. Although modern senior people (after 1950s) have experienced the development of mobile internet and the change of consumption mode，they still have lower consumption level than that of traditional elderly (before 1930s) due to their high expectations on health savings and risk aversion．The non corresponding relationship between the elderly consumption and the socioeconomic development reveals the difference between the consumption potential and the actual consumption of the aged．Social changes have shaped the cautious，conservative，and low-desire passive consumption attitudes of the elderly，leading to consumption desire lag behind consumption power to a certain extent. Reducing the risk expectations of elderly expenditure and breaking the state of low consumption desire are important ways to promote effective consumption of the elderly in the new era．
