Nuclear energy is one of the important energy that can optimize the energy structure and reduce carbon emissions. For the near term, the development of nuclear energy in China will still be dominated by pressured water reactors (PWRs), but long-term utilization of PWRs will result in the problems of uranium resources shortage and radioactive waste disposal. According to studies, the closed fuel cycle based on the fast reactor can effectively breed the nuclear fuel through multiple cycles, and meanwhile burn Minor Actinides (MA) produced in over six PWRs with the same capacity. According to the three-stage strategy of "experimental reactor–demonstration reactor–commercial reactor" of the fast reactor in China, as well as the situation that nuclear power development started late in China, a road map is suggested for the development of the fast reactor in China, in which the main mission for the fast reactor is to breed nuclear fuels till 2050, and to burn MA after 2050.