In recent years, basic medical researches and their cost have been developing rapidly,however, the development of clinical researches is very slow. In fact, only a few basic researches can be translated to clinical application, and the promoting role of basic research for clinical practice is very limited. This produces a wide gap between basic research and clinical research, which seriously hindered the progress of medical science and the advancement of public health. Translational medicine came into being under this condition, and is now being understood and utilized by scholars worldwide. This paper summarizes some features and new advances of translational medicine. Meanwhile, the authors put forward suggestions to strength translational medicine in China according to the status quo of health care reform and the medical research and education in Chinese hospitals, which could help to relieve the dissatisfaction among the government, the society and the public toward the mismatch of basic medical research and clinical research, and to promote harmonious development of medical science.