The protection of new plant varieties is an important part of the implementation of the national intellectual property strategy and promoting agriculture strategy through science and education, and an important driving force of agricultural science and technology innovation. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the protection status of new varieties of agricultural plants in China, this paper collected and sorted out the data of protection of new varieties of agricultural plants over the years, and summarized the status quo and research progress of protection of new varieties of agricultural plants in China. In view of the problems existing in the protection of new varieties of agricultural plants in China, such as weak protection consciousness, unbalanced application structure, low protection level, weak protection strength, difficulty in safeguarding rights, obtaining evidence and enforcing laws, etc., countermeasures and suggestions were put forward to promote the protection and innovation of new varieties of agricultural plants in China from the aspects of increasing publicity, strengthening scientific and technological management and formulating incentive measures. It provided important theoretical support and reference for further developing the modern seed industry promotion project in China, effectively enhancing the seed industry supervision and governance capacity, and building a powerful seed industry.