Abstract: This paper gives a review of the present status and perspectives of insect chromosome research in China, including: insect groups studied, results of karyotype analysis, technique and methods adopted, chromosome mitotic and meiotic division, and chromosome modality aberrance, structure aberrance and quantity aberrance. Chinese scholars had begun the study on insect chromosome since 1930s. The karyotypes of 481 species insects belong to 10 orders have been studied by now in China, mainly concentrated on such groups as locusts, grasshoppers, stinkbugs, aphids, mosquitoes, flies and silkworms. Researches in chromosome behavior included: the mitosis of silkworms and fruit flies; the meiosis and the sexual determination mechanism of Blattaria, locusts, grasshoppers, stinkbugs and silkworms; and the synaptonemal complexes of Blattaria and silkworms. Research on chromosome structure variation focused on: salivary gland chromosomes of fruit flies and mosquitoes; B chromosomes of the fruit flies; the chromosome deficiency, repetition, inversion and translocation of silkworms and mosquitoes; and the chromosome quantity variation of the silkworms and moths. Moreover, these results were mainly used to explore insect systematics and evolution, regulation of insect heredity and variation, and so on. Through comparing domestic and international research results, necessities in this research field in China were proposed, and a perspective was given.

Key words: insect, chromosome, karyotype, behavior, aberrance, China