From the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, the development of the history of education in China can be divided into four stages: a budding period, one of tortuous development, a recovery stage and finally one of stable growth influenced by various ideas and themes from other countries. Abundant academic areas and topics as well as a diversity of research methods have shaped this discipline and borne remarkable academic fruit while pursuing Chinese features in discipline-building. However, such problems as crisis in the discipline, discipline categorisation and the gap between academic values and practical applications of the research outcome are prominent issues with which researchers in history of education in China need to grapple. In the future, studies of educational historiography, the enrichment of historical materials, the proper treatment of interdisciplinary research and the internationalisation of the discipline need to be further worked on in order to advance the field.