Abstract: Synthetic biology is driving biotechnology innovation in a disruptive manner, empowering the development of medicine, agriculture, and environmental protection. The United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K.), Australia and other countries have strengthened their strategic layout and promoted the development of this field through roadmap formulation and systematic assessment. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the assessment and outlook of the progress of synthetic/engineering biology in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. It was found that the three countries had carried out unique assessments based on their respective development goals, basically following the assessment framework of “goals-results-initiatives”, focusing on the construction of core assessment indicators of the three modules of innovation level, industrial development and basic ecological environment, and mainly using qualitative and descriptive analysis, supplemented by quantitative analysis to review and assess the progress of synthetic biology. At the same time, this paper summarized the practice of assessment of synthetic biology in China, and put forward relevant suggestions on the assessment from the aspects of assessment strategy, assessment framework and assessment method, so as to provide reference for China to build a more accurate, efficient and adaptable assessment system, and to carry out the assessment of synthetic biology and other emerging technology fields.

Key words: Synthetic Biology; Progress Assessment; Emerging Technologies; Assessment System