Pesticides, which have the dual characteristics of being both helpful and harmful, are important materials for ensuring food security and human health.  Therefore, the rational development, scientific application, and effective control of pesticides are very important.  In this paper, from the perspectives of pesticide discovery, formulation processing, application mode, residue monitoring, and pollution elimination and prediction, trends in the research progress and development of pesticides in China were systematically summarized to provide an important reference for the development of pesticides with high efficiency and low risk and for the reduction of pesticide application.