Three main developmental stages of criminology in China are identified: (1) prior to 1949; (2) between 1949 and 1978; and (3) after 1978. Each stage of criminological development is discussed followed by a description of institutions in China that support criminological research and education. The first stage of criminological development in China, the stage prior to 1949 was marked by social turmoil and upheaval following the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. The resulting crime and poverty that overtook the nation at this time compelled researchers in China to develop the fields of criminology, sociology, and anthropology. The second stage of the emergence of criminology in China occurred between 1949 and 1978 centered about the mobilization of anti-crime campaigns targeting counterrevolutionary crime by the Chinese Communist Party in an effort to solidify its rule. However, Chinese leaders believed that social issues should only be studied from a Marxist perspective and thus exercised great control over the study of sociologists, political scientists, and criminologists. The third stage of the emergence of criminology in China began following the Open Door Policy in 1978, which ushered in a time in which the general public embraced the social sciences, including criminology and sociology. The third and fourth crime waves that hit China in 1979 and 1981 were also a powerful driving force for the development of a more sophisticated criminology. In the 1990s a handful of institutions involving criminological research emerged in China, including the Chinese Society of Criminology and the Society of Juvenile Delinquency Research in China. Finally, the authors discuss the fundamental issues and challenges facing criminological research in China, which include the increasing attention from overseas scholars on the current crime problem in China. Major challenges include ideological confinement and the lack of evidence-based research. Tables, bibliography, notes