Abstract: Tea plant [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze], which originated in the southwest of China, took place a series of evolution from the level of morphology to the cytology level and to molecular level as it spread from the original center to other parts of China and elsewhere in the world. The research on the tea genetic evolution is not only a fundamental issue of tea biology but also an important aspect of the study of tea genetic resources. In the recent years, new technologies and methods have been widely applied in the study of the genetic evolution of tea plant. Some significant progress had been made so far. In this paper, we summarized the studies on the tea genetic evolution in the aspects of morphology, cytology, biochemistry and molecular biology of tea plant. The applications of SSR markers in genetic evolution of plants and its prospects in tea plant were discussed. The purpose is to provide some references for further study of the genetic diversity of tea in China and related analysis of the evolution.