The territorial ecological security pattern refers to the planning and layout for ecological protection and restoration within the national territory to ensure ecological security. Analyzing the development process and characteristics of China's territorial ecological security pattern holds significant importance for promoting the construction and optimization of the national ecological security pattern. This research reviews the evolution of China's territorial ecological security pattern, clearly identifying the landmark events in each stage. It analyzes the current characteristics of China's territorial ecological security pattern and highlights the key aspects supporting the development of the national spatial ecological security pattern in the future. With the gradual deepening of awareness of ecological security theory and the development of socio-economic factors, the construction of China's territorial ecological security pattern has evolved from addressing the restoration of specific ecological issues to the development of the "two screens and three belts, " and further refined to the current "three screens and four belts." Nowadays, the construction of China's territorial ecological security pattern pays more attention to the integrity and functionality of geographical units in space. It emphasizes integrated governance of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands. And it pays more attention to the coordinated layout of ecological, productive, and living spaces to ensure harmony between economic development and ecological security. Given the background of climate change and increasing human activities, more efforts need to be invested in areas such as technological support, comprehensive management, risk response, and guiding public participation to provide solid support for the construction of the territorial ecological security pattern.