【Background】 Originating in Eurasia, the codling moth Cydia pomonella (L.) has become a notorious invasive pest that has caused severe damage to the world′s pome and drupe fruit industries. This insect is also an important foreign quarantine pest in China. 【Method】 In order to clarify the current distribution and dispersal history of this pest, historical literature and documents were collected, and a systematic monitoring program was conducted in China′s major apple and pear producing areas by using standard sex pheromone lures. The current and potential damage of codling moth to China′s fruit industry were calculated using specific formulas. 【Result】 The codling moth was first detected in Xinjiang Province in 1953. By October, 2013, this pest was present in 144 counties in 7 Chinese provinces, including Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin. The main concentrations were between 74.56°E~106.8°E and 120.02°E~132.95°E. The currently infested areas cover 49410 hm2. The potential yield loss in China caused by the codling moth were 1850100 tons of apple and 813300 tons of pear. 【Conclusion and significance】 Our study confirmed that the distribution of the codling moth in China was divided into two regions, a western and an eastern one， and this distribution pattern posed serious threat to the apple industry of the Northwest Plateau (primarily in Shaanxi Province) and Bohai Bay (primarily in Shandong, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces). Because these two regions represented the two major apple producing areas and account for 80% of apple production in China.