After 15-year study, as the core program of the global change research, IGBP is evolving into the second phase. The advancement of IGBP is described, including the study of key processes in the earth system and the cross-program synthesis study. In future, the research directions of IGBP will change greatly: the synthesis study will be up to a higher level, adapt to the study of the global sustainable development,and realize the conversion from the academic study to practical application and the integration of global problems with the regional problems. Moreover, according to the structure of the earth system, the key issues of relative programs in future and the progress and prospects of IGBP researches in China are discussed.