Catalpa bungei C.A.Mey. and C.fargesii Bur., usually known as ‘the king among trees’, are valuable timber and famous ornamental tree species endemic to China, with a long utilizing history. However, the excessively cut for utilizing, as well as difficulties in breeding, results in not only shrinking in forest resources, but also restriction of the application of gardening in the urban and rural areas. According to the relative literatures, the paper gives a brief commentary on the main biological, ecological, ornamental characters and economic value etc. in order to promote their exploitation and application. It summarizes the cultural connotations of Catalpa bungei. and C. fargesii, such as ‘the witness of history , excellency of wood quality and tree posture , a auspicious symbol and a age-old history as medical plant’. In addition, the paper states main ways of their applications in landscaping, such as urban greening, road greening, forest-crop intercropping, ‘four sides’ greening, building eco-economic forests ect.. At last, based on the existing problems in the exploitation and use of this kind of tree currently, some countermeasures are presented, such as breed new varieties, enlarging the cultivation area of seedlings, enhancing the research of plant disposition and extending applications in urban gardening.