As it is urgently required to prevent and control pollution, China must accelerate the development of clean coal combustion technologies. However, currently there lacks researches on the technology roadmap of clean coal combustion in China. This paper briefly introduces main features of the coal utilization structure in China, and also the significance in developing clean coal combustion technologies. Then, focusing on 6 types of clean coal combustion technologies, we discuss the strategic ideology and targets, status quo at home and abroad, future technical directions, major fields and key technologies. On this basis, we depict a technology roadmap for the clean coal combustion in China before 2050, and also provide relevant policy recommendations. Results indicate that in the near future, China must accelerate the application of new circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technologies in small and medium-sized coal-fired industrial boilers, and popularize a batch of high-quality briquettes and advanced stoves in the field of residential coal combustion, so as to reduce the dispersed coal-burning pollution. In the long run, the government must strengthen planning and guidance to increase the proportion of coal for clean and efficient centralized power generation, and continuously research and develop green coal power generation technologies and systems for the future.