[Aim] Flaveria bidentis (L.) Kuntze is one of the notorious alien plants that has rapidly spread in China since 1990s. It is necessary to elucidate the spatial-temporal invasion and expansion processes in China to prevent or mitigate its further invasion.[Method] We reconstructed its invasion and expansion process by collecting information from herbarium records, literature, and field investigations. Its invasion vectors and expansion routes were examined by analyzing the temporal changes in its geographic pattern.[Result] F. bidentis firstly invaded Handan and Hengshui City in the southern part of Hebei Province. It then spread to neighboring regions along roads with 71% of the earliest occurrence points being within 2 km of major roads. It has now spread 350 km north to Tianjin City, 350 km east in Dongying City in Shandong Province, 250 km to the south in Kaifeng City in Henan Province, and 100 km to the west in Licheng City in Shanxi Province. The heterogeneity of the speed of spread of F. bidentis in different directions in China might be related to natural barriers and expansion route. The Taihang Mountains should be geographical barriers to prevent its spread to the west. F. bidentis however could break through this barrier along the roads with the human activities. By 2017, F. bidentis had invaded over 100 counties of five provinces in northern China.[Conclusion] F. bidentis is still in a stage of rapid expansion. It might continue to spread southwards and westwards from the invaded areas in the future. It is imperative to establish early monitoring at the forefront of expansion to curb its spread.