A close look at the literature reveals a big gap in studying impression management. Virtually no research has been carried out to examine the use of impression management from an ethical perspective. Attempting to bridge the gap， the current study draws on ethical theories and social infl uence theory to put forward the following propositions：（1） Individuals who have high cognitive moral development level will be less likely to use impression management tactics than those with low cognitive moral development level； （2） Utilization of moral reasoning moderates the relationship between cognitive moral development and the use of impression management； （3）Individuals who use impression management tactics will be more likely to obtain desired outcomes than those who do not； （4） Ethical leadership moderates the ef ect of impression management tactics on desired outcomes.