[Objectives]  To determine the future potential and current application of predatory insects as biological control agents in Chinese farmland. [Methods]  Chinese literature on the potential, and current, use of predatory insects in farmland for biological control collected by the CNKI database was identified and analyzed using the bibliometrics method. [Results]  544 predatory insect-related papers and 1 747 relevant key words were identified. The identified contents were mainly on the arthropod community and the dominant predatory species in farmland, key predators in farmland; predation, food webs, evaluating the value of the ecological services provided by predators, artificial breeding, artificial feeding, the release and application of predators, key pests of major crops and integrated pest management. Most papers were on the rice and cotton ecosystem and its associated pests and their natural enemies. Harmonia axyridis, Coccinella septempunctata, Propylea japonica, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Paederus fuscipe, Micraspis discolor and Microvelia horvathi are the dominant predatory insects in Chinese farmland. [Conclusion]  There is great potential for utilizing predatory insects for biological control in the main farmland ecosystems in China. More research on the occurrence of important pest populations is required, as is research on the conditions preferred by these species and their biocontrol efficiency.