Defining a universal geodetic coordinate system is one of the fundamental challenges of geodesy.We present a review of the basic general coordinate systems — the space rectangular coordinate system,the geodetic coordinate system,the topocentric coordinate system,and the plane coordinate system.We then look at the World Geodetic System WGS72 and WGS84 and the International Terrestrial Reference Frames ITRF2000 and ITRF2005,which were introduced when space technology became available.The history of international geodetic coordinate systems in the Antarctic region is briefly reviewed and the development of the geodetic coordinate systems in the Chinese Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station in Antarctica is outlined.Finally,the issue of coordinate system transformation is discussed.