Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to give a general introduction of the development of Forest Harvesting at home and abroad.During last 30 years,forest harvesting has been progressed from stem-only utilization to whole-tree utilization.Both treelength system and whole-tree system are increasingly used in many countries.The whole-tree chipping system,which increases the biomass yield and shortens the rotation period,is being given priority consideration and is becoming promising.The general incerase in the physical standard of living in industrialized countries has led to a considerable increase in labour cost and consequently the technical evolution from manual and motor-manual to fullymechanized operations occured.Microprocessors make it possible to realize the automation of work-sequences and the remote control of tree harvesing machines,which increase significantly the productivity and safety of forest operations.In planning forest harvesting the methods of determining optimum forest road spacing and the appropriate level of mechanization are developed.In conclusion,the author draw lessons from other countries,which can be used in China,and give prediction of the development in this field.