With the rapid development of the national economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for japonica rice is growing steadily. Heilongjiang is the main production area of japonica rice in China, which plays an important role in ensuring the stability of the japonica rice market and the food ration security of the people across the country. The planting area of japonica rice in the high latitude cold region represented by the four and five accumulated temperature zones in Heilongjiang province is about 700,000 hectares. This area has special ecological conditions, cold climate and short frost-free period, which have special needs for rice breeding. The article summarized the development history and current situation of rice breeding in high-latitude cold regions, and put forward the direction of future development.