A significant progress has been made in the theory and practice of rice-duck farming in China in recent decades. Attained theoretic achievements included effects of rice-duck farming on nutrient cycle, matter and energy flow characteristics in paddy fields, pest and disease control and the dynamic relationship between pests and natural enemies, weed communities and control in paddy fields, water environment and aquatic biodiversity in paddy fields, soil fertility and biodiversity, rice growth and canopy structure, emission of greenhouse gases and global climate change, rice quality, yield, ecosystem services and comprehensive benefits, and control of golden apple snails. Practical innovations included technical procedures and regulations of rice-duck farming, rice-duck farming with direct seeding method, rice-duck farming with zero-tillage, and other new development techniques such as two-batch duckling co-culture with rice in a growth season or rice intercropping with other water plants and duck co-culture. Based on the progress mentioned above, present situation and future development trends and demand, key research perspectives were put forward: effect, mechanism and long-term research on rice-duck farming; innovation, integration and demonstration of key technologies of rice-duck farming; standardization and industrialization of rice-duck farming; and rice-duck farming study in the context of low-carbon agriculture and global change demand.