Abstract: The R&D location selection of multinational corporations in China has always been a hot topic. Many scholars have analyzed the R&D location selection determinants of multinational corporations in China using the empirical analysis. The R&D investment in China is divided into three stages in this study. Supported by the R&D system and function of the multinational corporations, the laws of the evolution of R&D location decision and the determinants’ changes are summed up. And the conclusion that the location decision determinants of multinational corporations in China have been increasingly complex with the evolution of R&D system and R&D function is drawn. With the different R&D system and R&D function, the importance of economic, technological, and environmental factors is also different.