Crude oil containing natural active substances，such as resinous and asphaltenes，readily formed a water-in-oil emulsion under throat shear，leading to liquid resistance，formation plugging，and significant reductions in oil well production. This study employed core replacement experiments and microscopic pore flow simulations to examine the flow behavior and liquid resistance of water-in-oil emulsions in complex porous media，focusing on crude oil viscosity，water content，and the size ratio between emulsion droplet and throat. The results showed that increasing water content heightened the liquid resistance effect of water-in-oil emulsions，thereby elevating the threshold pressure gradient. Under the condition of 550 mPa·s crude oil viscosity，20%—50%water content，and 300×10^-3 μm²core permeability，the threshold pressure gradient of water-in-oil emulsion was 12—37 MPa/m. For high-viscosity（550 mPa·s）crude oil，viscosity significantly influenced the emulsion threshold pressure gradient，while for low-viscosity（＜30 mPa·s）crude oil，the droplet-to-throat size ratio had a more pronounced effect. Due to the liquid resistance effect，water droplets accumulated at the throat inlet，leading to agglomeration and the formation of larger droplets within the water-in-oil emulsion. A larger emulsion droplet-to-throat diameter ratio increased the seepage resistance of dispersed phase（water droplets）. A decrease in the capillary number of water-in-oil emulsion increased seepage resistance due to the liquid resistance effect. Calculations showed that when the capillary number was 9.9×10^-4（low-viscosity crude oil）and the ratio of droplet size to throat diameter was 2.5 or 10.0，the liquid resistance effect increased the seepage resistance of water-in-oil emulsion through the throat to 7 or 35 times that of pore flow resistance. The results clarified the liquid resistance effect of water-in-oil emulsion flow in porous media and its influencing factors，providing theoretical guidance for the study of formation crude oil seepage and enhanced oil recovery.