Biological reference points (BRPs) are often used as the benchmark in quantifying management objectives and determining the status of fisheries stocks.In general,there are two groups of BRPs,fishingmortalitybased and biomassbased.For fishingmortalitybased or biomassbased BRPs,there are target reference point (TRP),limit reference point (LRP) and threshold reference points (ThRP).Target reference points are used to quantify the management goals.Typical target BRPs include target biomass B_msy,target spawning stock biomass S_msy、SSB_35%、SSB_40%,target fishing mortality F_msy and its proxies such as F_max,F_0.1,F_med,F_35%,F_40%.These represent ideal or optimal levels of stock biomass and fishing mortality that are sustainable. The LRPs are used to ensure that fishing mortality is not too high to overfish populations and that stock biomass is not too low to sustain itself,and often include F_msy, F_max,F_0.1,F_crash,F_20%,and B_loss.Threshold reference points usually have values between the TRPs and LRPs and act as a warning or precautionary indicator before the fisheries reach the LRPs.The BRPs are usually estimated from dynamic pool models,production models and stockrecruitment models,and are often incorporated into a harvest control rule (HCR) in fisheries management.Large uncertainty is often associated with BRPs,which may result from errors in key life history parameters and variability in the ecosystem.In this study,using tuna fisheries as an example,we comprehensively reviewed the development and application of BRPs in fisheries management.We also discussed the development of BRPs and relevant HCR for the management of inshore fisheries in China.