Abstract Gene editing techniques were developed chronologically,which include zinc finger nuclease,transcription activator-like effector nuclease and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas 9).This paper introduces the working principles of these technologies,explores their respective advantages and disadvantages,and illustrates the application examples of CRISPR-Cas9 in rice as well as in medical diseases cancer.Finally,the article presents the deep concerns of humans over the ethical and social issues arising from gene editing technology.