Abstract: From the nature and purpose of foreign language classroom research, this paper first retrospectively reviews the characteristics of foreign language classroom research, namely the method comparison research in the 1960s, the individualized teaching research in the 1970s, the individual learner factor research in the 1980s, and the classroom process research in the 1990s. It then discusses the research foci since the 21st century, such as the classroom interaction and focus-on-form teaching and introduces four main methods of foreign language classroom empirical research including the descriptive research, the experimental research, the ethnographic research, and the correlational research. Finally, it proposes prospects for the future foreign language classroom research from the macro and micro levels in order to provide a reference for researchers.