With rapid socioeconomic development in coastal and marine areas, degradation of the marine environment and destruction of marine ecosystems have received widespread attention. Traditional sector-by-sector management cannot effectively solve the problems in the various uses of sea areas. Marine spatial planning (MSP) is increasingly considered an effective tool that can resolve conflicts among various human uses as well as the conflicts between human uses and the marine environment. Many countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and United States have already initiated or implemented MSP. In China, marine functional zoning (MFZ) has developed independently since it was first proposed by the Chinese government in 1988. In this article, the evolution of MFZ in China was briefly introduced. The process of MFZ was summarized as the following elements: preparatory work, collecting data, defining and analyzing present and future conditions, developing the zoning scheme, approving and revising the zoning scheme. Through exploring the problems and deficiencies of existing MFZ from both technical and administrative perspectives, the principles and ways to improve MFZ in China were proposed in the context of international MSP practice before a new cycle of revision.