In view of the progress of sustainable economy in the world，this article proposed a number of issues that should be considered under the mega trend of developmenttowards a low carbon，green and sustainable economy including coatings industry，focusing on the technical progress in waterborne，powder，high solid，radiation-cured（UV/EB）lower VOC coatings and bio-based coatings and four basic issues that must be followed：performance， production scale，economy and environment. Some constructive proposals were presented forthe sustainable development of coatings industry in China.