Abstract: This paper summarizes the history, current situation and comprehensive role of high dams in the world, and analyzes the problems and challenges in high dam construction and safety management in future. Aiming at the key technical problems faced by the construction and operation of high dams, the developing trends of high dams in acceptable and appropriate maximum height, safety standards, evaluation methodology, multi-source information fusion, intelligent health diagnosis, and sustainable utilization are put forward. Taking into consideration the issues related to engineering, society, environment and comprehensive benefits in the river basin, it is demonstrated that an acceptable and appropriate maximum height of extra-high dams in the future is approximately 300 m. Thus, it will be imperative to improve the safety standards, and better integration of constant value analysis and risk analysis should be a major trend in the future development of safety evaluation methods. Other methods, such as forward simulation, information feedback analysis, risk chain identification, and failure path analysis, will also be effective means for the safety evaluation and safety management decision-making of high dams. A risk classification management and potential risk inspection system together with implementation of monitoring, health diagnosis, defect repairs, sediment treatment, operation and maintenance of high dams should be established and improved. All these measures are conducive to the long-term, stable, safe and sustainable use of high dams.

Key words: high dam construction, high dam technology, safety standards, developing trend of high dam, digital river basin, river basin safety