ABSTRACT Using change scores of adjacent waves from 4 waves of data from the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province of China, this study aimed to examine the change patterns of instrumental support from adult children and grandchildren, test the function of instrumental support from grandchildren, and investigate associations of different support patterns. Results from latent class analysis revealed three basic types of support change pattern – simultaneous decrease in support, simultaneous increase in support, and simultaneous little in support, which reflected a close, remote, and indifferent relationship between older adults and two younger generations. Findings of multinomial regression showed that grandparents’ personal needs, emotional closeness, and geographical proximity with their adult children, and societal norms of reciprocity were associated with receiving simultaneous increased or little support from two young generations. The findings indicated that rural older Chinese adults mainly received instrumental support from their adult children, and highlighted the mediating role of the middle generation which facilitated or hindered support from grandchildren.