Abstract: Mechanical analysis involving chains is a very interesting topic that has drawn much attentions in history. As a characteristic variable-mass system, a falling chain is often referred as an example in textbooks of mechanics. However, there are many inconsistencies in the treatment of falling motions of the flexible chain, which demand to be clarified. The falling motion behavior depends critically on the initial configurations of the chain. In the present article we are concerned with four distinct setups, of which the diverse motion behaviors will be briefly analyzed.