In the context of the globalized digital economy, international law-making has become a signifi cant approach for addressing the challenges of global cross-border data fl ow. Compared with international law-making in other fi elds, the phenomenon of fragmentation of international law for cross-border data fl ow is more intricate and long-observed. In de facto, the international law-making of cross-border data flow can be deconstructed with reference to the three elements of the rule of law, namely, accuracy, obligation, and authorization. The main practice patterns include non-legal norms, soft law within international organizations, soft law between governments, and trade agreements with coexistence of soft and hard laws. In de jure, international soft law should ideally progress in the direction of either conflict, inclusion, or transformation. In this regard, a comprehensive consideration of factors such as power play, benefi t distribution, and implementation eff ects is necessary. Through a balanced approach of soft law and hard law, active participation in the international lawmaking agenda under the issue of cross-border data fl ow is crucial to promoting the development of a more just and reasonable global data governance legal order.