From 1990 to 2020, the number of newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer in the world continued to grow, but the prevalence remained stable. As time went, the incidence （world standard incidence, adjusted with age structure of world population） of lung cancer changed in gender, region, age, and histological type. The difference between male and female in incidence continued to narrow, with male incidence declining by 12.5% and female incidence rising by 22.3%. There were obvious regional differences in the incidence of lung cancer. From 1998 to 2012, the incidence of male lung cancer in Europe, Asia and North America showed a downward trend (the average annual change percentages were -1.6%, -0.6% and -2.5%， respectively), while the incidence of female lung cancer showed a upward trend except North America. From 1998 to 2012, the average age of lung cancer patients in all regions of the world showed a trend of increasing year by year. The average age at diagnosis of lung cancer in Asian men increased from 67.21 years in 1998 to 69.14 years in 2012. Patterns of histological types of lung cancer have also changed. Since the early 1980s, the proportion of squamous cell lung cancer has declined. Since 2004, adenocarcinoma has become the most common histological type of lung cancer in the world. In 2020, China had the largest cases of newly diagnosed lung cancer in the world. From 1989 to 2008, urban-rural ratio of lung cancer incidence dropped from 2.07 to 1.14. In economically underdeveloped areas, the incidence of lung cancer was also rising, and the situation in some areas with high incidence of lung cancer had been controlled. China, as the largest tobacco producer and consumer country, has to be serious with the control of tobacco. Risk of lung cancer caused by environmental pollution is gradually lower. Controlling occupational exposure is also the key to preventing lung cancer in China, and establishing a mornitoring network for risk factors is the direction in future.