The list of national quarantine pests of agricultural plants in China includes 10 species of insects. Based on nationwide monitoring and census results organized by the Ministry of Agriculture every year, a comprehensive analysis of 10 species of insects including Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say), Bactrocera tsuneonis (Miyake), Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius), Cydia pomonella (L.), Viteus vitifolii (Fitch), Hyphantria cunea (Drury), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, Solenopsis invicta Buren and Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley was conducted. Five of them are native to North America. In China, these 10 species of insects mainly damage cereal crops, fruit trees, vegetables and cotton. They were generally first found in coastal and border areas. Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus, Cydia pomonella, Solenopsis invicta and Leptinotarsa decemlineata are spreading quickly and are more widely distributed than the other species. Hunan, Yunnan, Jilin and Taiwan each have 5 species; more than other provinces, whereas Zhejiang, Xinjiang and Guangxi each have 4 species. Tibet and Qinghai currently have no national quarantine insects. The number of provinces in which new insects have been found doubled in the 1980s compared to the 1970s. In the 1990s the number increased by 3-fold compared to the 1980s and is now increased 6-times that in the first 10 years of this century. In the last 6 years from 2010-2016 provinces in which new insects have been found equal the number in the previous 10-year period. The national quarantine insects of agricultural plants in China are widely distributed in China and are a major threat to agricultural development. Coastal and border provinces are the generally where insects have been first detected. The rate of spread is increasing, and the frequency at which they are colonizing new provinces has also increased. Phytosanitary measures have played an important role in controlling the spread of them. However, authorities at all levels, as well as different administrative agencies such as agriculture and forestry, need to cooperate more closely to control the spread of the national quarantine insects of agricultural plants. Revision of the list should carefully follow the basic principle of "mainly keep the status quo but add and subtract species in a timely fashion".