Studies on extreme precipitation events during last 50 years indicated that the frequency and intensity of precipitation extremes increased but exhibited distinct regional difference under the background of global warming. Observations showed that extreme precipitation increased in mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River, southeast and some regions in northwestern China, moreover the decreasing trends of extreme precipitation were investigated in north, northeast and southwest regions. Overall prediction of models suggested that the extreme precipitation in China would be polarized although differences of outputs presented between different models. Concepts and definitions of extreme precipitation events were investigated by analyzing the relationship between mean and extreme from the angle of statistics, and then the trends of precipitation extremes were analyzed in different regions. Physical mechanisms and processes affecting extreme precipitation were summarized from the viewpoint of air-sea interaction taking Yangtze River basin, where the trends of extreme precipitation were complex, as typical climate zone, on the basis of summary of studies of extreme precipitation in China. However, the definitions that can reflect the essence of extreme precipitation need further study, and the physical processes affecting extreme precipitation are not fully understood. In addition, the new impact factors are constantly discovered along with the in-depth study of extreme precipitation events.