China is the world's largest aquaculture producer and has made important contributions to global food security and nutrient supply. In the new stage of social development, China's aquaculture needs to address complex and sensitive issues related to food security, poverty alleviation and employment, food safety, and environmental protection in order to achieve more sustainable development. The present study reviews the development trends since 2000, existing problems and development directions of aquaculture in China. China's aquaculture industry has achieved continuous development since 2000, and the level of intensification and diversification has been continuously improved, some traditional farming systems have gradually disappeared, and new farming techniques and models have emerged. The changes and development of aquaculture in China have responded to society's changing needs of the aquaculture industry. However, China's aquaculture still faces difficulties around ecological environment protection, technology level improvement, product supply structure, smallholder producer and policy risks. With the continuous transforming and upgrading of China's social and economic levels since the reform and opening, the primary focus of the development of aquaculture has gradually shifted from providing food to providing employment and economic development, and then to environmental protection and food safety recently. China's aquaculture industry needs to make full use of the latest equipment technology, information technology, genetic breeding technology, nutrient and disease prevention technology to promote the development of aquaculture, strive to increase the scale and organization levels, promote synergistically development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and move towards internationalization and sustainable development gradually.