Plant science in China has been developing rapidly in 2011. Chinese scientists reported a lot of original research findings in various aspects of plant biology. A series of breakthrough in the structural insight into the signaling pathway of plant hormones (brassinosteroid and abscisic acid) has been made. Moreover, research in the evolution of rice genome and systematic botany achieved significant progresses. This review aims to provide an overall picture of plant research in China and highlights some of the important findings in 2011.