3D cadastre is a guarantee for the sustainable use and land administration of urban underground space. By far urban underground 3D cadastre of China is still at the exploring stage. This paper provides a thorough literature review on urban underground 3D cadastre from the perspectives of legal provisions, land registry and data models. Based on the intrinsic characteristics of urban underground space and some thoughts derived from research and planning practices, some suggestions are put forward for the future development of urban underground 3D cadastre in China.