Abstract: This paper presents and discusses on two decades development history of ethnobotany in China . Ethnobotany appeared as a scientific research subject in 1896 in USA, ethnobotany as discipline to study with in China was begun in
1982; and in 1987 the first ethnobotany research department was established at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences . After twenty years development, ethnobotany in China has been developed from basic , or desecriptive research into applied phase , immense progress has been made in sustainable plant resource use , biodiversity conservation and rural regional- coordination development . However , ethnobotany as discipline in China is remarkable in establishement of theoretic framework; identification of research areas; methodological development and set-up appropriate approaches for basic and applied ethnobotany . This paper presents and discusses development history of ethnobotany in China ; advances in research and field-site development ; discipline development and training of young scientists; theoretical innovation
and development , and promotion of ethnobotanical research and training in China , which are largely based on the works that have been done and development facts presented at the Kunming Institute of Botany , Chinese Academy of Sciences. Meanwhile suggestions for further development of Chinese ethnobotany in three aspects are proposed in the paper .

Key words: Ethnobotany