The film industry in Mainland China has grown rapidly in the 2010s, and in particular, local crime films have emerged over the past decade as a unique cinematic phenomenon that epitomizes China’s political and cultural system and social realities. As little is known about this phenomenon in the West, this thesis would provide a comprehensive review of the history of Chinese crime cinema, with a focus on the development and characteristics of the genre in the 2010s. The introduction defines the object and scope of the study, and briefly introduce the context of the Chinese film industry. The first chapter outlines the different forms of crime films in Mainland China before the 2010s, the strict content censorship in China, and the impact of Hong Kong and Korean films on Mainland Chinese cinema. The second and third chapter reviews selected Chinese crime films released from 2011 to 2020, and interpret in detail the influential ones. The conclusion summarizes the overall trends, commonalities and current status of Chinese crime cinema.