The morbidity and mortality of acute kidney injury (AKI) have been increasing year by year in the world. The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) group developed new AKI definition and stages in 2012. The latest definition of AKI has brought about great changes in basic research and routine clinical practice. AKI defined by KDIGO is associated with significantly increased sensitivity of AKI diagnosis, decreased rate of missed diagnosis, improved ability to predict the death of critically ill patients, and better clinical applicability. Several large-scale, multi-center epidemiological studies of AKI, according to KDIGO criteria have been conducted in China, which have preliminarily elucidated the epidemiology and risk factors of AKI. As for treatment, it has been increasingly realized that more emphasis should be placed on the importance of integrated management, including renal protection and support, early intervention, fluid management, nutritional support, and renal replacement therapy (RRT), for the prognosis of AKI.