Food hoarding is prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic.  To investigate the mechanism of urban consumers’ food hoarding behaviors, we categorize hoarding motives into rational and irrational ones.  Using random online survey samples from three cities in China, we employ the multivariate probit model to investigate the rational and irrational motives on food hoarding behavior.  Our results confirmed the existence of both rational and irrational food hoarding, and also found factors attributing to the different buying behaviors.  The amount of food at hand and the expectation on the infection possibility of COVID-19 are two major factors affecting rational hoarding.  Bad mood and herd psychology are factors contributing to panic buying.  This study provides an empirical evidence to support intervention policies aiming at mitigating panic buying behavior.