Abstract: Although the quantity of forest resources in China isin the front rank of the world, there are still some problems such as poor forest stand quality and single species plantations.Because of the limited potential of increasing the forest area, the development of forest resources in China should focus on improving the forest stand quality.The theory of close-to-nature forestry, which originated from Germany, embodies the philosophy of Unity of Heaven andMan, emphasizes the harmony between man and nature and goes with the trend of times.For all of these, it could balance the economic, ecological and social functions and the benefit sharing of forest and improve the forest stand quality when put into the management operation.The current ways of forest management in China should be reformed through selective harvest and structure control for natural forests and close-to-nature modification for plantations to improve the forest stand quality and achieve the sustainable development of forest resourcesprogressively.

Key words: close-to-nature forestry, forest management, forest quality, sustainable development