The main type of indica-japonica hybrid rice was bred by the japonica CMS line as female parent and the wide-compatibility indica restore line as male parent. The first typical japonica-indica hybrid rice Yongyou 6 was bred by crossing japonica CMS Yongjing 2A and indica restore K4806 in Zhejiang province. In recent year, a number of influential japonica-indica hybrid rice were bred by the similar breeding mode with obvious yield advantages and were welcomed by farmers. This article reviewed the history of indica-japonica rice research, focusing on the present situation of utilization of heterosis between japonica CMS lines and the wide-compatibility indica restore lines, in order to provide a useful reference for the future research on the utilization of heterosis between indica and japonica rice subspecies.