The development of ‘Affordable housing has become an urgent and important topic of discussion in China. Unlike in western countries where the social welfare system has been set up for many years and the public housing system also is mature, in most Asian countries, the social welfare systems are still weak in relation to their large amount of low-income populations. The gap between rich and poor is considerably large, and is still increasing; many people with low income could not afford their own houses since the minimum down-payment and the entry requirement of the real estate market are both increasingly high; the ‘Affordable housing’ is therefore very difficult to be developed appropriately under this circumstances. The thesis provides an overview of the development of ‘affordable housing around the world, and a brief introduction of the relevant situation in China, in order to find out some applicable policy suggestions for the development of Guangzhou city’s affordable housing market from such previous experiences.