Abstract: Through systematically introducing the development history and current situation of membrane technology in Japan, it proves that the membrane technology has been widely used in Japan in water treatment, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment and desalination industries after decades of continuous investment, and the membrane technology has an important role in the market of global membrane. Limited by local market scale, the application of ultrafiltration/microfiltration membrane in Japan is only 1.3×10⁶ m³/d for water purification, but in the world it is 1.0×10⁷ m³/d. The application of reverse osmosis membrane in Japan is 1.44×10⁶ m³/d, but in the world it is 3.0×10⁷ m³/d. It is proposed that Chinese membrane companies could refer to Japanese experience in the development of membrane industry, and develop international market through increasing R&D investment, strengthening innovation ability, and providing more cost-effective products and excellent technical service.