This study explores the influence of orientation-survival experience courses on the national defense cognition of senior-high school students. One hundred and twenty first-grade students from senior high schools participated in this study. They were randomly and evenly divided into the experimental group and control group. The researcher-designed questionnaire was developed based on five aspects, including national identity, effectiveness of national defense education, knowledge on military weapons, national defense capability, and willingness to join the military. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were successfully tested. The dependent sample t-test and the independent sample t-test were adopted for the data analyses, with the significant difference level at alpha=.05. The primary findings include: 1) In the experimental group, the post measures of the national defense cognition and its five aspects were significantly higher than the pre measures. 2) The national defense cognition of the experimental group was found positively correlated with the five aspects. It can be concluded that the orientation-survival experience courses can enhance the national defense cognition.