The status and development of the application of satellite data assimilation in numerical weather forecast is introduced. A large amount of satellite data has already being used in numerical weather forecasts. It occupies major amount of data resources and has great effect on the accuracy improvement of numerical weather forecasts. The attempt to assimilate the satellite data affected greatly by surface emissi vity, cloud and precipitation is being made to fully use satellite observation in existence. At the same time, the application of satellite data assimilation in numerical weather forecasts is developing toward an accommodation with the great amount and new types of satellite measurements brought by the global observation system. Introduction is made to two main joint satellite data assimilation centers: JCSAD (Joint Center of Satellite Data Assimilation) and NWP SAF (Satellite Applications Facility for Numerical Weather Prediction), which were built to meet the requirements of the status and development of the application of satellite data assimilation in numerical weather forecasts, with a brief discussion on satellite data assimilation in numerical weather forecast in China.