根据林业遥感科研项目成果和行业应用表现出的阶段性特点，将中国林业遥感发展历程划分为3个阶段： 1951年—1980年为以航空遥感像片为主的目视解译应用阶段，建立了航空摄影和地面综合调查相结合的森林调查技术体系；1981年—2000年为卫星遥感开拓创新阶段，首次研发了针对森林资源调查的卫星遥感数字图像处理系统，在可再生资源遥感调查、遥感系列制图、生态效益评价等关键技术领域均取得了重大突破，并将应用领域扩展到湿地资源、荒漠化和沙化土地、林业灾害等遥感调查、监测领域；2001年—2020年为定量遥感发展与综合应用服务平台形成阶段，通过深入开展林业遥感应用基础理论和定量遥感技术与方法研究，促进了定量遥感技术的快速发展和林业综合监测技术体系的形成，并构建了林业遥感综合应用服务平台；最后就林草部门在新时期所面对的新要求、新任务，给出了未来林草遥感科研和应用发展建议。

According to the progressing characteristics of research project achievements and industry applications of forestry remote sensing, the development course of China's forestry remote sensing in the past 70 years (1951—2020) is divided into three periods and reviewed. 1951—1980 was the phase of remote sensing application by visual interpretation based on aerial photo. During this phase, China has established forest inventory technology system combining aerial photography and comprehensive ground survey. 1981—2000 was the pioneering and innovative developing phase of satellite remote sensing. For the first time, the satellite remote sensing digital image processing system for forest resource inventory was developed, and some major breakthroughs were made in key technical fields such as renewable resource inventory, series thematic map production, and ecological benefit evaluation using remote sensing. Meanwhile, the application fields have been expanded to the remote sensing inventory and monitoring fields of wetland resources, desertification and desertification land, forestry disasters, etc. 2001—2020 is the phase of rapid development of quantitative remote sensing and initiative construction of comprehensive application service platform. Through in-depth research on the basic theory of forestry remote sensing application and quantitative remote sensing technology, China has promoted the rapid development of quantitative remote sensing technology and designed a comprehensive forestry monitoring technology system, and established a comprehensive forestry remote sensing application service platform. In the end, we put forwards some suggestions for the future development of scientific research and application of forestry remote sensing, in order to meet the new requirements and tasks faced by the forestry and grassland sectors in a new era.