This paper gives a brief introduction of the longwall top coal caving (LTCC) method which has had a strong impact on China´s coal mining industry since 1980 s.Great contribution to LTCC has been made by Chinese experts including cavability assessment, overlying geological variations on support loading, geotechnological characterization, technique and process for increasing recovery, safety monitering and control,and design and manufacture of high capacity equipments. The future of LTCC method is also predicted.