The rapid growth of World Wide Web has created a new platform for information exchange. Although WWW makes more data easily available, it has also created many problems such as information overload, disorientation, and reduced quality of data. In order to solve these problems, most current approaches primarily focused on information filtering and searching based on the technical perspective. Few researches have provided analytical results of the information acquisition behaviors over the Web. Based on the cognitive fit theory and task-technology fit (TTF) theory, this study proposes a comprehensive research model to describe the individual information acquisition strategies on the World Wide Web. To examine the research model, a laboratory experiment was performed on a group of 120 students. Sixteen task scenarios were designed and one prototype website was developed according to the specifications defined through the literature review and a pilot study. The research results show that both task structure and system characteristics have an impact upon individual information acquisition behaviors over the website. The experiment also confirms that subjects feel more satisfactions at adopting formal search and purposeful browsing strategies. The understanding effect of the research object is a function of scanning and purposeful browsing strategies. The interaction between task structure and system characteristics is also significant. These findings allow us to have a better understanding of information acquisitions behavior on the Web.