South China (SC) suffered a rarely seen elevated thunderstorm on 27 February 2012. Based on meteorological observation data, Doppler weather radar data and NCEP/NCAR analysis data, the characteristics and causes of the elevated thunderstorm are analyzed. The results show that this convective weather with short time heavy rain, hail and thunderstorm which occurred behind a cold front was a typical elevated thunderstorm. There was a low level temperature inversion over SC, the atmospheric layer near surface was stable and the location of the convective weather was correlated well with the 850 hPa shear line. The east southward propagation of westerly trough and the southward movement of westerly jet in the mid high level together with reinforce of the 850 hPa low level moist southerly on the southern side of the Nanling Mountains created favorable atmospheric circulation conditions for development of the elevated convection. The conditional symmetric instability of the air over SC and the convective uplift mechanism of warm air including southward movement of cold air in boundary layer and upper level divergence contributed to the “elevated convection” weather. Different from the general thunderstorm that develops from the surface, the warm and moist air for this elevated thunderstorm began to lift convectively from the layer near 850 hPa which was above the temperature inversion, not beginning from the boundary layer.