China is the first country where heterosis of hybrid rice was successfully exploited commercially on a large scale in the world. Hybrid rice has been developed for 40 years since Prof. Yuan initiated it in China. It had been planted about 330 million hectares with an increase of nearly 400 million tons of rice during 1976–2002. China’s experience on hybrid rice could be attributed to utilization of various cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) resources, high outcrossing rate CMS lines and stable environmentally induced genetic male sterile (EGMS) lines, improvement of diseases resistance and grain quality, and combination of ideal plant type with heterosis in hybrid rice breeding program. Innovative breeding techniques, e.g. improvement in root system, molecular marker-assisted selection and wild hybridization should be considered in further development of hybrid rice in China.