The rapid development of industrialization, population growth, pollution and climate change lead the increasing scarcity of global water resource. Seawater desalination is an important supplement and strategic reserve to water resource, and which is an important solution to water shortage in coastal areas. In the past 50 years, China has made great progress in seawater desalination, which has made great contribution to water resource, energy and environment. This paper briefly introduced the development status of Chinese and global seawater desalination to provide reference for water resources comprehensive utilization.