Abstract: There are two controversies about palliative care. One is whether the scope of palliative care should be expanded, and the other is whether the timing of palliative care intervention should be advanced. Regarding the research progress of palliative care, there are currently two consensuses: the target population of palliative care should be expanded to all patients of all ages who suffer from serious illness and serious health-related suffering, palliative care interventions should be integrated into the whole treatment process of serious illness early. However, the expansion of the scope of palliative care targets and the advancement of the timing of intervention have brought new challenges, and there is an urgent need to formulate a new strategic plan and implement it, so as to accelerate the exploration of the development of palliative care that suits China's national conditions. A new understanding of the target group of palliative care and the timing of intervention will help accelerate the development of palliative care in China. This article analyzes and discusses the history, research progress, definition updates, and existing evidence of palliative care, as well as the clinical needs, aiming to provide a reference for the practice of palliative care in China.