Abstract: It is an urgent problem to further promote the reform of science and technology system and increase the ability of innovators to promote innovation-driven development. As an important part of our modern scientific research organization system, new R&D (research and develpment) institutions are not only a breakthrough in deepening the reform of scientific and technological system, but also an important way for the transformation of national innovation power. Considering the characteristics of the times and the key influencing factors, an endeavor is made in dividing the development of new R&D institutions into four stages, and concisely summing up the development characteristics of new R&D institutions from the perspectives of policy design and practice exploration at the national and local levels, aiming at providing a panoramic perspective for further understanding the growth path of new R&D institutions as a new scientific research organization.