The Outline of Science is a senior science popularization book edited by John Arthur Thomson (1861—1933), a British biologist, a naturalist as well as a famous writer of science popularization. Its Chinese translation KexueDagang was published by the Commercial Press in the 1920s. It could be used as a typical study case of science communication in the Republic of China. In this paper, the concepts of science communication in The Outline of Science and its influence are discussed by studying the text of The Outline of Science, its Chinese translation and reviews at that time. It comes to the conclusions that the Chinese translation and its selling price could not satisfy the readers at that time, which had some adverse impacts on the science communication. In addition, the scientific interest, which gains focus on in Thomson’s works, was emphasized in science communication, but the importance of the way of scientific understanding and the dynamic development of science have not been fully disseminated.