Plumb wave activity flux,T-N wave activity flux and local E-P wave activity flux are widely used to analyze the propagation of Rossby wave in atmospheric dynamics.The differences in characteristics and applicability among three types of Rossby wave activity fluxes are discussed in a case study of a cold wave in January 2016.Plumb wave activity flux with strong zonal component and weak meridional component is suitable for the analysis of Rossby waves with small amplitude in the zonally symmetric westerly.T-N wave activity flux with improved meridional component based on Plumb wave activity flux is appropriate for analyzing Rossby waves in the zonally asymmetric westerly.T-N wave activity flux derived on the multi-year average climatic field of current month can more successfully indicate wave propagation anomaly in current season.Local E-P wave activity flux can illustrate the modulating effect of transient waves on background field (stationary waves),but can not reflect the evolution of long waves.