The cephalopods are one of the most potential fishing species in the world and have become an important component of the world's marine fishing industry. The world cephalopod fisheries and their composition were analysed using the grey association method based on the world cephalopod production statistics from 1970 to 2016. According to the development status of China's pelagic squid fishery, the problems are pointed out and the development countermeasures are put forward. The analysis found that the world's cephalopod fishing production in the period from 1970 to 2016 generally showed a relatively stable growth trend, with an annual growth rate of 3.68%, which is much higher than the growth rate of world marine fishing production in the same period, and reached its highest level ever in 2014. Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of cephalopods in world fishing production stabilized between 4.5% and 6.0%. The composition and proportion of the production for different families have varied from one generation to another, and the production of main countries and areas has changed greatly. In the 2010s, the proportion of each family was Ommastrephidae (58.41%), Loliginidae (11.98%), Octopodidae (8.92%), and Sepiidae (8.40%). Asia has played the important role in the cephalopod fishery in the world for more than 40 years. Japanese cephalopod production fell from 1st in the 1970s to 5th in the 1990s and 2010s, and China rose from 5th in the 1970s to 1st in the 2000s and 2010s. The lack of knowing, developing and controlling abilities over pelagic squid resources is a major constraint on the sustainable development of pelagic squid fisheries in China. Therefore, a global information service system should be developed on the fishing conditions of pelagic squid fisheries, a system for the standardization of fishing gear and equipment with independent property rights, the catch quality control technologies and traceability systems should be developed, information-based construction of ocean-going fisheries should be carried out based on Internet of Things projects, and the cephalopod fishery resources assessment system should be established.