OBJECTIVE： To analyze the domestic and overseas environment of Chinese generics development and put forward some references for development strategies of generics. METHODS： By SWOT analysis， the internal strengths and weaknesses， external opportunities and threats about Chinese generics development were interpreted to explore the thought and strategies. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： The development of Chinese generics shows the advantage of low sale price， low R&D cost， good accessibility， sizeable generics manufacturers； the disadvantage of various quality of raw material， immature preparation technology， too simple quality detection， poor bioequiavailability due to the disvnity of reference preparation. It faces the opportunities of original drug patent expiry， ageing of population， large domestic and foreign market and government support； and it also faces the threats of patent infringement risk， fierce market competition， poor efficiency of appraisal， low-level repeated production of generics. Generics manufacturers should seize the opportunity and avoid the threats by using advantages， be fully aware of own disadvantages and promote the development of generics by making best use of the advantages and bypassing the disadvantages.