Clinical data management, a critical part of clinical trials, plays a decisive role in assuring the accuracy and reliability of the trail results. This article discusses the quality standards of clinical data, introduces the important rules and principles for standardized clinical data management, and reviews the development and current status of clinical data management home and abroad. It is proposed that we should learn the advanced clinical data management modes from international partners and introduce standardized clinical management software from abroad, so as to improve the clinical data management in China.