The difference of wind-induced responses of cooling tower under wind loads obtained from codes and wind tunnel test is studied. A comparison was made between the wind pressure distribution coefficients derived from Chinese, British and Germany codes. The wind loads on a large cooling tower obtained from the test and the codes were compared. A finite element model of the tower considering tower shell, herringbone column, circular foundation and pile was established. And the influence of wind pressure distribution on the wind-induced responses and local stability coefficients of the tower were made. The result showed that the wind pressure distribution coefficients on the top and bottom of the tower are quite different with those on the middle part due to three-dimensional flow effect. The biggest values of wind-induced responses under the test and codes appeared different with the type of the response, for example, the axial force of herringbone columns and piles reaches their biggest value is under the wind loads from the test. The local stability coefficients of the tower under the wind loads from Chinese, British and Germany codes are quite the same and totally smaller than those obtained from the test, with the minimum value 37.8% smaller than those obtained from the test.