With the African continent as its research subject, “African studies” is an integrated and cross-domain discipline that explores the historical processes of African civilization as well as its contemporary political economy and social development. After the mid-19^th century, African studies in the West had gradually become a relatively independent discipline in the humanities and social sciences in colleges and universities. Contemporary African studies in China originated in the mid-20^th century due to the necessity of dealing with Africa after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and facing the rapid development of Sino-African interaction and co-operation, it made headway as a result of widespread knowledge demand against the background of growing challenges. At present, the core task and fundamental approach for the development of China’s African studies is to build on the foundation of Chinese academic tradition, to deeply observe and comprehensively grasp the national practices of Sino-African developmental cooperation, to construct original theoretical and discourse system which can expound, explain and guide those national practices, to make incessant efforts in some basic domains in terms of disciplinary construction, and to ultimately build a “China African studies” with Chinese academic character as well as integrated Chinese and foreign characteristics.