China′s aquatic vegetables primarily include 12 categories， such as lotus （Nelumbo nucifera）， water bamboo （Zizania latifolia）， taro （Colocasia esculenta）， water chestnut （Eleocharis dulcis）， arrowhead （Sagittaria spp.）， water spinach （Ipomoea aquatica）， water caltrop（Trapa spp.）， gorgon eurgale （Euryale ferox）， water dropwort （Oenanthe spp.）， water shield （Brasenia schreberi）， common cattail （Typha spp.） and watercress （Nasturtium officinale）. They have a long cultivation history in China and are characteristic aquatic economic crops. The National Aquatic Vegetable Germplasm Repository （Wuhan） has long been engaged in the collection， conservation， evaluation and utilization of aquatic vegetable germplasm resources. To date， it has maintained 3449 germplasm accessions from both domestic and international sources， established a comprehensive conservation system， and identified 140 elite germplasm resources. These achievements have facilitated fundamental research in genome sequencing， genetic diversity analysis， and molecular marker development in aquatic vegetables， ultimately advancing the breeding of new aquatic vegetable varieties and promoting the sustainable development of the industry. This article summarizes and reviews the progress in germplasm collection and conservation over the past two decades， as well as progress made in the innovation and utilization of aquatic vegetable germplasm resources. We further discuss prospects on future germplasm collection， conservation， characterization， evaluation， and sharing mechanisms， aiming to offer insights for the protection， effective utilization， and industrial development of aquatic vegetable germplasm resources in China.