This review describes research progresses and main achievements in the science and prediction of heavy rainfall over China since the beginning of the reform and opening-up of China between 1980 and 2019. The research progresses on the physical mechanisms of heavy rainfall over China are summarized from three aspects-namely, the relevant synoptic systems, heavy rainfall in the major sub-regions and heavy rainfall induced by typhoons. The development and application of forecasting techniques for heavy rainfall events are summarized from the perspectives of numerical weather prediction techniques and objective forecasting methods.