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CL-20 explosive has a wide engineering application foresight due to its high energy while is limited by its mechanical sensitivity. In this regard, to study its ignition mechanisms under impact and to determine the main ignition sources, drop-weight experiments on CL-20 explosive crystals were carried out and recorded by a high-speed photography camera. Various configurations, e.g., film, ring, open ring and strips, were designed to explore primary ignition mechanisms and exclude secondary possible sources. The results show that the main ignition mechanism of CL-20 under drop-weight impact is the adiabatic compression of trapped gases. These trapped gases were mainly from the decomposition of CL-20 itself when melting. Our findings indicate that methods focusing on melting suppression should be considered to reduce the CL-20 sensitivity under impact.