ForsythiaForsythia is a taxon of deciduous shrubsShrub that bear yellow blossoms in early spring, and ForsythiaForsythia suspensa is one of the most widely grown as ornamental speciesSpecies and herbal medicinesMedicine. Most ForsythiaForsythia speciesSpecies originated from East Asia, and were introduced to Europe successively since 1880, followed by early activities of geneticGenetic improvements using traditional breedingTraditional breeding approaches. As the result of concerted efforts from botanists, breeders, and scientific communities for decades, a large collection of varietiesVarieties has been successful created. This review illustrates the economic value of ForsythiaForsythia, the germplasmGermplasm resources, and the history of conventional breedingBreeding. With the establishment of in vitroIn vitro cultureCulture and genetic transformationGenetic transformation, genetic engineeringGenetic engineering for flowerFlower colorColor modification and lignan production has achieved progress. Meanwhile, the recent geneticGenetic and genomic studies in ForsythiaForsythia have uncovered key genes and geneticGenetic variants underlying complex traits, such as leafLeaf-coloration, lignan biosynthesis, and stress resistanceResistance. As the molecular breedingMolecular breeding and biotechnologiesBiotechnology continue to advance, future breeding programsBreeding programs should combine traditional practices with marker-assistedMarker-assisted selectionSelection and genome editingGenome editing tools to increase the breedingBreeding efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy in ForsythiaForsythia.