The SWAT model of Jianyang Basin of Minjiang River is calibrated by the parameter calibration method based on the system differential response theory. The actual application effect of this method is verified by the daily data of the basin from 1992 to 2000. Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), percent bias (PBIAS) and correlation coefficient (r) are used as evaluation indicators to evaluate the simulation accuracy of SWAT model after calibration, and compared with the simulation results of SWAT model obtained by traditional calibration using SUFI-2 method. The results show that the parameters calibrated by the system differential response method perform well in the daily runoff simulation of Jianyang Basin, with NSE of more than 0.65, PBIAS of runoff within 5%, and r of more than 0.65 in the calibration and validation periods. It is feasible to use the system differential response parameter calibration method to determine the parameters of SWAT model in practical application, and the efficiency and accuracy are higher than the traditional SUFI-2 method.