Building worldclass universities in China is a dynamic and constantly developing historical process. It reflects China’s determination and unremitting effort to strength its higher education. China started a bit late in developing modern universities. For a long time, universities in China were basically teachingoriented universities. It was only in 1980s that they began to transform into modern universities. The “211 Project” started the construction of China’s “research universities.” In recent years, with the construction of national “Double FirstClass” universities, a number of schools have made building worldclass universities their strategic goal. Especially in the past twenty years, Chinese universities have made great efforts in this drive, which has two characteristics. First, making development plans and promoting comprehensive reform has become the internal driving forces for the rapid development of Chinese universities. Second, governmentled compulsory measures, such as assessment, evaluation and rating, are the external thrust of the rapid development of Chinese universities, and objectively promote the continuous enrichment of the core connotation of school construction and the continuous improvement of the level of education. However, there are two major problems at present. First, there is a lack of performance evaluation based on big data tracking analysis for the effectiveness of talent cultivation and undergraduate education reform. Second, although Chinese universities are classified as “211 Project,” “985 Program” and “Double Firstclass,” homogenization of higher education in Chinese universities has not been solved, and many universities have not found their way of specialization that reflects their academic level and talent cultivation characteristics. Innovative university is the only way for building highlevel research university. There is no fixed model for innovation, and innovative university is not a model or a label. Innovation is the inevitable demand for building a highlevel research university and a worldclass university. The key to innovation and development is free mind, innovative ideas and brave practice.