In 1992, Shanghai established the first private investigation agency in China: "Shanghai Social Security Consulting and Investigation Office". One year later, the Ministry of Public Security issued a document prohibiting the establishment of private investigation agencies, and this institution was thus abolished.

On March 1, 1993, the private investigation agency "Chengdu Xieli Affairs Investigation Institute" was established.

In 1993, China's first anti-commercial fraud investigation agency, Beijing Stier Business Investigation Center, was established.

On September 7, 1993, the Ministry of Public Security issued the "Notice on Prohibiting the Establishment of Private Detective Agencies and Other Private Institutions of the Nature of private detective Agencies", strictly prohibiting any unit or individual from establishing various forms of civil affairs investigation agencies and other private institutions of the nature of private detective agencies.

In 1994, China's first intellectual property protection investigation agency, the Zhonglian Intellectual Property Investigation Center, was established.

On June 16, 2000, the first high-level academic symposium on civil investigation, initiated by a private investigation agency, was held in Beijing.

On March 16, 2001, the "Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Civil Litigation Evidence" was promulgated and came into effect on April 1, 2002. The latest civil litigation evidence rules allow privately recorded audio and video recordings to be used as "evidence in court".

In August 2002, in accordance with the requirements of the Nice Union, a world professional organization for trademark intellectual property rights, the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce included "Detective Agency" in the new "Classification Table for the Registration of Marks for Goods and Services", allowing the registration of the "Detective Agency" trademark.

On December 7, 2002, the "2002 China Business Information Investigation Industry Seminar" was held in Chongqing.

In November 2002, the court of Luzhou, Sichuan Province, took the lead by offering generous rewards to "private detectives" for catching "deadbeats". The appropriate involvement of detective agencies in public and civil investigations to make up for the insufficiency of public power is conducive to the recognition of the positive aspects of society by the people's courts.

In February 2004,CCTV2 Economics and Law reported on private detectives in China, and private detectives gradually came to the surface. Video: Getting Close to Private Detectives 1 Approaching Private Detectives 2 Private Detective 3: Where Are Chinese private Detectives Headed? .

On December 16, 2010, China's first private detective was sentenced for illegally obtaining personal information. Since then, the detective industry has no longer been a gray area but has entered a "black area".