Abstract: Emigration from China has drawn increasing attention from the media and academia. In this paper, we survey the scholarly literature on emigration from China focusing on the post-1949 period. We review policy changes and patterns of emigration over time, and identify possible causes of emigration and impacts for migrant origin communities and China as a whole. To the extent relevant, we also explore how new patterns of emigration from China in the 21st century also impact migrant destination countries. Finally, we discuss potential contributions of the Chinese case to the general area of migration studies and identify future research directions in this field.