Since the 90's, private developers in China have been growing remarkably, and as the reform of land-market progresses, they are taking greater actions in urban renewal project than before. In this research we clarified the statutory process of urban renewal, and considered the states of private developers in an actual renewal project in Tianjin Nanshi. We examined them by focusing on ‘fairness’-neither the benefits of private developers, public, nor residents should be damaged by the renewal project, and ‘transparency’-the procedure should be definite and the system should be open. The paper concludes that some parts of the renewal process are not transparent, and recommends to improve the legal system of urban renewal, for example, to introduce a public participation in order to modify the structure that the development plans depend too much on the agreement between the government and developers.