Camellia japonica is one of the most famous traditional flowers of China. The present paper reviews the research progress of various aspects of C. japonica, such as reproductive biology, genetic diversity, chromosome ploidy, breeding method, propagation techniques, chemical composition, ornamental value, ecological value, edible, oil-used and medicinal value. In the future, it should be emphasized to carry out breeding research with combination of molecular technique and traditional cross. In addition, mining the oil-used and medicinal value of C. japonica in depth and exploiting it reasonably will be highlighted.