Smart highways are vital for actively coping with various challenges regarding traffic safety, operation efficiency, service level, and management capabilities of current road networks, and for realizing the high-quality development of road networks in China. This study clarifies the implications and characteristics of smart highways and proposes an overall structure of smart highways based on national conditions and development realities. Subsequently, it summarizes the development status of smart highways in China, clarifies the development challenges in terms of cognition and planning, standards and norms, policies and regulations, and governance mechanisms, and proposes the short-, medium-, and long-term goals of smart highway construction in China. Moreover, key tasks for smart highway construction in China include intelligent construction, infrastructure digitization, automatic driving based on vehicle – road collaboration, new-generation intelligent systems for highway tax and fee collection, intelligent maintenance, intelligent service areas, intelligent emergency response, and integration of infrastructure, communications, energy, and service networks for intelligent highways. Further efforts should focus on the formulation of industry guidance documents, improvement in collaborative promotion mechanisms, development of standards and norm systems, study of highway mileage tax reforms, and implementation of supportive industrial policies and measures. Results of this study are systematic, forward-looking, and implementable, and are hoped to promote the healthy development of smart highways and deepen the research and application of relevant technologies.