Sonoluminescence is a complex phenomenon, the mechanism of which remains unclear. The present study reveals that an abnormal ionization process is likely to be present in the sonoluminescing bubble. To fit the experimental data of previous studies, we assume that the ionization energies of the molecules and atoms in the bubble decrease as the gas density increases and that the decrease of the ionization energy reaches about 60%–70%as the bubble flashes, which is difficult to explain by using previous models.