Litchi， a subtropical evergreen woody fruit tree that originates in China and has been cultivated for over two thousand years， is essential to China’s fruit tree industry. The rich litchi germplasm resources hosted in China provide an important guarantee for litchi breeding and industrial development. The national litchi and banana germplasm repository （Guangzhou） serves as the primary unit for the preservation of litchi germplasm resources in China and is currently the most comprehensive and standardized litchi germplasm repository in the world. As of December 2022， the national litchi and banana germplasm repository （Guangzhou） has collected and preserved 652 litchi germplasm resources and successfully bred multiple high-quality litchi new varieties， including Hong xiu qiu， Xian jin feng， and Feng shan hong deng long. The repository has also established a population of over 500，000 natural hybrid offspring and more than 20，000 artificially hybrid offspring， promoting basic research on litchi genomics and origins， molecular markers， quality， and disease resistance. These measures have contributed to the adjustment of the litchi varieties and the promotion of the industry， playing an important role in rural poverty alleviation and the sustainable development of the litchi industry. This review presents an overview of the development history of the national litchi and banana germplasm repository （Guangzhou） and also summarizes the progress made in the past two decades regarding litchi germplasm resource collection and preservation， as well as their innovative utilization. Furthermore， we propose future research directions and focus in the national litchi and banana germplasm repository （Guangzhou）， aiming to provide a reference for the effective utilization and industrial development of China's litchi germplasm resources.