The theoretical development of Chinese contemporary moral education has undergone a period in which it strongly absorbed the new achievements and problems of moral education practice to improve itself. Nowadays, the theoretical development of moral education has moved to a level at which it adapts to the change of moral education practice and improves itself as time goes on. The current features of theoretical development require us to make a systematic and thorough research into the theoretical development of moral education since the initiation of the reform and opening-up in China. It is necessary both for the educator to improve his theoretical attainment and for the educational researcher to innovate moral education theories. In detail, the research can help us get a deeper comprehension of the process, effects and problems of the theoretical development of moral education, and enhance the self-awareness of moral education research. It can help us make more scientific illustration or explanation about the phenomena, practice and problems of the previous and present moral education, make scientific judgments, anticipations, and intervene the future of moral education. Effectively it can also help us broaden and deepen the fields and themes of the theoretical study on moral education, and thus motivate and bring about its greater prosperity.The theoretical development of moral education is the fundamental content and characteristic of moral education theory, and the study on theoretical development of moral education is a research of the activity of moral educational research and its development. Taking the studies on basic educational theory as reference, the theoretical development of moral education is embodied in the shift of central themes of theoretical studies of moral education, the transformation of its study tradition, the development of the content of theoretical studies and the prospect of research tendency. The former two characterize the theoretical development of moral education from the point of view of form, while the third one from the point of view of content, and the last one analyses the theoretical development of moral education from a future perspective.Having done a thorough study of papers focusing on moral education in Educational Sciences printed by the People's University, and also their important quoted works, we can divide the theoretical development of moral education into three phases: the scientization period of theoretical study on moral education(1981-1988), the modernization period(1989-1998 and the humanization period(1998-2005). In other words, the central theme of moral education study during 1981 and 2005 started from scientization, uderwent modernization, and now proceeds to humanization .In the scientization period, the moral education process played a leading role in the themes of moral education study, people paid universal attention to the status of moral education, and scientization became the goal of. almost all the discussions of moral education problem. In the modernization period, the function and effect of moral education became the hot topic in the academic circles, the