"Jingyuan" first saw action during one of the opening engagements of the First Sino-Japanese War, in the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894. Each Chinese ship was paired with another in a supporting role in case of a signalling failure, with "Jingyuan" and the armored cruiser "Laiyuan" grouped together. Shortly after the start of the battle, Admiral Ruchang's signalling mast aboard the ironclad warship was disabled by its own weapons. This meant that the entire Chinese fleet operated in these pairs throughout the battle without any central organisation. While "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan" did not come under such heavy fire as other Chinese vessels, they each caught fire with extensive damage to "Laiyuan". Along with the other ships of the Chinese fleet, "Jingyuan" made her way to Port Arthur (now Lüshunkou District) after the battle. During the battle, "Jingyuan"s sister ship, "Zhiyuen" was one of the Chinese cruisers sunk by the Japanese.