Maize is an important food and forage crop in China, and the prevention and control of insect pests and weeds is a major bottleneck problem faced by maize production in China. The application of transgenic insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize can reduce the usage of pesticides and play an important role in improving corn yield and harvest quality. Since the commercial application of transgenic insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize abroad in 1996, the lepidoptera pests such as corn borer and fall armyworm have been effectively controlled, and the weeding cost has been reduced, with remarkable economic, social and ecological benefits. Here, the development status of transgenic insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize in the world and China in the past ten years was summarized, the opportunities and challenges faced by the industrialization of transgenic insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize in China were analyzed, and some suggestions were provided for accelerating the industrialization application of transgenic maize in China.