Abstract: Using the methods of literature review and text analysis, this paper sorts out and summarizes the historical evolution and evolutionary characteristics of Olympic education in China, and predicts the future prospect. The study concludes that China's Olympic education has gone through five stages: emergence, difficult start-up, active exploration, comprehensive planning and continuous development. Accordingly, it has presented the following evolutionary characteristics: the educational goal has changed from the instrumental rationality of saving the nation from subjugation to the value rationality of health for all, the organizing pattern has changed from the coordinated planning of amateur education organizations to the joint governance of multiple educational agencies, the educational approach has changed from closed and conservative external dependence to open and adaptive self-development, and the educational scope has changed from the exposure of a few people to the participation of the whole people. For the future development of Olympic education in China, it is necessary to highlight the characteristics, integrate the Chinese culture genes to sublimate the local contents; actively absorb stakeholders to improve the governance capacity of Olympic education; make use of digital technology to continuously promote the digital media dissemination of Olympic education; comprehensively plan the "life-cycle" education to establish a life-long education system.

Key words: Olympic education, historical evolution, evolutionary characteristics, future prospect