The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for their contributions to cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation. This discovery sheds new light on immunotherapy. In this paper we reviewed the research on CTLA-4 and PD-1, two well-studied immune checkpoints. We also investigated the drug development and clinical use which are targeted to immune checkpoint, as well as the development of immunotherapy in China. Meanwhile, we discussed the limitations in immunotherapy at present and the solutions to solve the problem of adverse effects existed in immunotherapy. China has made great progress in the research of immunotherapy because of the young talents coming back to China and the excellent research platforms as well as the great investment in the field of immunotherapy in recent years. There is no doubt that the immune checkpoint inhibitors developed by China will be accepted globally and China will make great contributions to the cancer therapy in the near future.