Laboratory animal industry forms an independent, comprehensive system responsible for the production, use and management of laboratory animals. Great advances have been made in this field in China over the more than thirty years of development. However, due to the great development and changes during this long time, there are also some issues which need to be amended and changed. To compare the concepts of experimental animals in China and developed countries such as USA. The key concepts on the laboratory animals are not well or clearly defined in the regulatory documents in China, which hinder the healthy development and effective regulation in this field, as well as the care and use of laboratory animals in research and education. In this article, we discuss the necessity of timely amendment and standardization of the key concepts and definitions related to laboratory animals, and the importance and impact of the key concepts on the development of animal industry in China.