Technical standards are important documents for the development, application and expansion of any engineering material. In the casting industry, technical standards are the premise for producing high quality castings and they provide tools for inspection and acceptance of castings, and aid both the purchaser and the producer. In this paper, the most recent worldwide and Chinese technical standards for SG iron, ADI, CGI and heat resisting iron castings are described. It can be seen that these Chinese national standards have reached the level of world class standards. This will be beneficial for enhancing the Chinese foundry industry, improving Chinese casting quality and aid the supply of good quality castings to China’s own industry. It is also good for the international buyer to source castings in China, and for the Chinese casting producer to export castings to other parts of the world. Current development trends for cast irons are also discussed. Technical standards are important documents for the development, application and expansion of any engineering material. In the casting industry, technical standards are the premise for producing high quality castings and they provide tools for inspection and acceptance of castings, and aid both the purchaser and the producer. In this paper, the most recent worldwide and Chinese technical standards for SG iron, ADI, CGI and heat resisting iron castings are described. It can be seen that these Chinese national standards have reached the level of world class standards. improving for casting the Chinese foundry industry, improving Chinese casting quality and aid the supply of good quality castings to China’s own industry. It is also good for the international buyer to source castings in China, and for the Chinese casting producer to export castingings to other parts of the world. Current development trends for cast irons are also discussed.