The small and medium-sized container terminals usually adopt simple，mobile，and flexible handling equipment. The container reach stacker is commonly used in China，while the container straddle carrier is often used in foreign countries. This paper analyzes the impact of different handling equipment on the terminal operation mode，economic indicators of general layout，and overall cost；discussing the applicability of the straddle carrier to the small and medium container terminals；and puts forward problems during design，which can be used as a reference for the similar project design.