Anti-illiteracy movement in China has made great achievements and we should attribute this success to literacy policies. This paper firstly elaborates the notion of literacy and reviews the related theories concerning literacy policies. Then by using the data collected from The Important Educational Documentations in China from 1949 to 2008, a series of books edited by He Dongchang, the former educational minister of China, the paper summarizes the number, objects, contents and characteristics of literacy policies in China. Furthermore, this paper examines the reasons why Chinese literacy policies were so successful and finds out some drawbacks of unsuccessful policies. It is of great reference and value to conduct such a diachronic research into literacy policies in China for the study, formation and implementation of such similar literacy policies in the future.