Abstract: Spinibarbus caldwelli, known as the black spine barbel, is a significant freshwater economic fish species in southern China, whose industrial development faces challenges such as germplasm degradation and insufficient fundamental research. The research progress of this species in the two core fields of early developmental biology and genetic breeding was systematically reviewed. In terms of early developmental biology, the current studies focused on the origin and migration patterns of primordial germ cells, and preliminary explorations of the functions of key regulatory genes related to reproductive development (such as vasa, nanos, and Scp3) as well as genes associated with growth and metabolism (such as MC4R, MC5R, and MSTN). In genetic breeding, based on the research on molecular markers such as RAPD, microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA, the genetic diversity and differentiation of different geographical populations were revealed, which provided the basis for germplasm resources evaluation. Based on the development trend of genomics and molecular breeding technology, the specific suggestions for the future research direction and industrialization development of this fish were put forward, aiming at providing reference for its genetic improvement, new strain (species) cultivation and industrial chain construction.