[en] To synchronously improve the yield potential with fine quality in wheat, the breeding method and approach should be innovated and widened. Application of space mutagenesis technique for wheat breeding could be a new way to gain this goal. Since 1991, the experimental studies of wheat seed materials boarding on the retrievable satellites and high-space balloons have been carried out. The results showed that the space-induced mutation was characterized as creating more favourable mutations which were easily stabilized. In one of the boarding experiment carried out in 1996, the main wheat materials used were Yumai 21 and Yumai 49, the extensively popularized cultivars in Henan Province during that period. The SP₁ generation was planted in the fields of 3 locations without screening. In SP₂ generation, 75 from 3291 mutants were identified with grain yields higher than Yumai 21 and Yumai 49, some of which were changed significantly in plant height or leaf types, ear type, disease resistance, quality performance and growth period, etc., compared to their corresponding parent. Two new mutant varieties Taikong 5, which was the first approved variety derived from space-induced breeding technology in China, and Taikong 6 were developed and officially released. The total planting area of these two mutant varieties has exceeded 300,000ha in production up to now. In addition, 8 new mutant lines with large spike and a batch of materials with super-high yielding, good industrial quality or other special characters have been obtained and put into further test at this time. The combination of space-induced technology with conventional breeding, the mutation frequency and mechanism of space mutation induction were also discussed. (author)