Figure skating originated in Britain in the 18th century, and then quickly developed in European and American countries such as Germany, the United States, and Canada.

　　In 1772, "A Treatise on Skating" written by Lieutenant Robert Jones of the Royal Artillery was published in London. This was the world's first book on figure skating. The figure skating competitions held at that time were of the so-called "English style", old-fashioned and formal, far from modern figure skating.

　　In 1863, American Jackson Haines, known as the "father of modern figure skating," integrated skating and dance art, and toured Europe to enrich the content and form of figure skating. In 1868, American Daniel Mey and George Mey performed the pair skating for the first time.

　　In 1872, Austria hosted the first figure skating competition. In 1896, the first World Men's Single Figure Skating Championship was held in Petersburg, Russia.

　　In 1906, the first World Women's Single Figure Skating Championship was held in Davos, Switzerland;

　　It was listed as the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924, including men's and women's singles (listed in 1924), pair skating (listed in 1924) and ice dance (listed in 1976).

　　In 1952, the first World Ice Dance Championship was held in Paris, France. The ice rink for figure skating is 56 to 61 meters long and 26 to 30 meters wide, and the ice thickness is not less than 3 to 5 cm.

　　The development of figure skating in China

　　Skating has a long history in China, and "Song History" has recorded "ice play". After the Yuan Dynasty, ice sports became more popular. There is a record of "ice bed and ice rubbing" in "Emperor Beijing Years Ji Sheng" in the Ming Dynasty, which all refer to skating games on frozen rivers and lakes. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a painting of "Bing Xi Fu" by the painter Shen Yuan showed the poses of the big scorpion, the independent golden rooster, and Nezha exploring the sea. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Beijing Beihai figure skating performance dedicated to Cixi saw double movements such as Shuangfeiyan and Dielianhua, as well as single-player movements such as Chaotian Stirrup and Boy worshiping Buddha. At that time, folk performances on ice included apes hugging peaches, lying fishes, harriers in clouds, phoenix spreading wings, shaking their bodies, etc.

　　Around 1930, Western figure skating spread to China. In schools in Beijing, Tianjin, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang and other cities, some students participated in figure skating. In 1935, a figure skating exhibition was held at the skating competition held in Beijing. In the winter of 1942, an ice sports meeting was held on the Yanhe in Yan'an, where figure skating graphics and free skating were performed.