Sotheby's and Christie's, the two most famous auction houses in the world, were established in London respectively. Sotheby's started as a book auction and soon became a leader in the international antique and art market. Christie's, which was established later, became famous overseas because of its many valuable handicrafts. At present, both companies have set up overseas branches in Taiwan Province Province and Hongkong, and set up offices in Beijing and Shanghai. However, they can't conduct auction business alone in the mainland. However, both of them are paying close attention to the changes of relevant policies in China, and are actively establishing the docking system and information network between the auction market in China and the archives of art collectors and buyers.

Chinese mainland art auction companies such as Cloudy Xuan, Guardian, Hanhai and Rong Baozhai were established in the 1990s. After the hot period from 1994 to 1995, it has tended to be rational and peaceful in the late 1990s. After thousands of years, powerful companies such as China Trade Shengjia and Huachen once again entered the Beijing market, and the result of intensified competition was the standardization and meticulous service of the industry. At present, there are many categories of large-scale auctions, such as oil paintings (including sculptures), contemporary (modern) paintings and calligraphy, ancient paintings and calligraphy, rare books of ancient books, letters from celebrities, porcelain antiques and so on. And it will also set up a special session according to its own characteristics, which can be said to have begun to take shape. However, in the face of the strength and credibility of overseas auction enterprises, domestic art auction enterprises are still unable to get rid of tremendous pressure.