Abstract: Predatory mites are important biological agents for controlling pests and mites, including thrips, whiteflies and spider mites, the literatures of controlling thrips using predatory mites had been reported more than three decades ago, with application in the European countries in the last century and nowadays all over the world. Benefiting from the development of industrial production for predatory mites, the cost of field application had been greatly reduced. The application of predatory mites reduced the side effects of chemical pesticides as well. Up to now, the researches focused on the species that could easily mass-reared, such as Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes and Neoseiulus cucumeris Oudemansn. Predatory mites were used in controlling onion thrips Thrips tabaci Lindeman in the early period, while in recent years, the use of Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot for controlling Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande had predominated, including its present application in China. The predatory mites are principally used in greenhouse vegetables and ornamental plant for controlling thrips, with necessitates adequate release technology and other suitable pest management methods.

Key words: predatory mites, thrips, development, reproduce, application