As a new branch of science in China, underwater archaeology has a great significance to the study and elaboration of the Chinese nation's marine civilization. This paper summarizes the origin, important practice and development course of underwater archaeology in China. Due to the high attention of the country, underwater archaeology has been "introduced" into China. After years of practice, laws and regulations have been continuously improved, the working mode has been continuously improved, the talent team has been continuously expanded, and the academic discipline has achieved leapfrog development. According to the current status of underwater archaeology, six development trends are proposed: the research direction changes from simple underwater archaeology to comprehensive underwater cultural heritage protection; The disciplinary construction and the academic discipline system of underwater archaeology are continuously optimized; The development and innovation of geophysical exploration and other key underwater archaeological exploration technologies are strengthened; The ability of underwater archaeological resources investigation and data acquisition is improved; Deep-sea technology and other related technical systems are transformed into deep-sea archaeological capabilities; International cooperation is strengthened.

marine culture  /  underwater archaeology  /  underwater cultural heritage