The present study advances scholarly understanding of publics' crisis responses by examining a potential role of temporal crisis distance and crisis threat appraisal from the perspective of publics. It explored whether and how temporal distance from the influence of crises (proximal future vs. distant future) might predict threat appraisal components (i.e., situational demands and required resources) and publics' crisis responses (i.e., crisis emotions and supportive behavioral intentions). This study tested the mediation model to explicate how temporal crisis distance affected crisis responses through crisis threat appraisal. The results revealed that temporal crisis distance significantly predicted publics' perception of situational demands, which in turn influenced crisis responses. Theoretical and practical implications for crisis communication are discussed.