Abstract: The general situation of rare earth resources and utilization status of rare earth in China are summarized. According to different types of rare earth mineral resources, the reform of rare earth smelting technology and the progress of green smelting are introduced. The results show that China not only is rich in rare earth resources but also has a large export volume, China plays an important role in the rare earth market of the world.?The changeable demand of new light and medium-heavy rare earth materials in different fields further aggravates the imbalance of demand for different rare earth elements.This situation promotes the development of green and efficient rare earth ore smelting technology. The current smelting technology can efficiently utilize the rare earth resources, however the green smelting process needs to be further studied. Chinese rare earth resources are continuously consumed and rare earth material industry in China is big but not strong enough. Smelting pollution is becoming increasingly serious. With the situation of Chinese rare earth material industry, the development trend of Chinese rare earth industry is put forward.On the one hand, developing ammonia-free smelting technology and realizing fluorine resource utilization are the directions of rare earth smelting technological innovation.On the other hand, with the establishment of independent intellectual property rights in the field of high-end rare earth material, we can enhance competitiveness of China's rare earth industry to realize the development of Chinese rare earth industry.