Abstract: All data related to nucleus are referred to as nuclear data, which include nuclear reaction data describing the interaction between incident particle and nucleus, nuclear structure data and radioactive decay data characterizing the properties of nucleus. Nuclear data are the basic data for nuclear physics fundamental research, nuclear energy utilization, nuclear facilities construction and nuclear technology application. Nuclear data are also widely applied in nuclear medicine, material analysis, resource exploration, environmental monitoring, aerospace technology and nuclear astrophysics research fields. This paper briefly introduces the types of nuclear data, the generation process and application of nuclear data, then reviews the development of international nuclear data and the current status of nuclear data research in China. Finally some suggestions for the future development of nuclear data in China are given.