HIV/AIDS has gradually changed from an incurable disease to an internal chronic disease, but about 1/3 of the patients are still diagnosed late. Late presentation is associated with high hospitalization rate, high transmission risk, heavy economic burden and poor long-term prognosis. Therefore, late presentation is one of the important challenges in the prevention and treatment of AIDS in China. The important reasons for the late presentation in China are the limited screening scope of non-high-risk population, the insufficient recognition of non-specific symptoms of HIV infection, and the high proportion of circulating recombinant form 01_AE subtype in HIV patients with male homosexual behavior. The focus of the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS has gradually shifted to general hospitals, and the late presentation rate may be effectively reduced by improving the recognition of non-specific symptoms of HIV infection, expanding the cognition of patients with various complex opportunistic infections and complications, and paying attention to HIV antibody screening before surgery and other invasive procedures in general hospitals. Taking the general hospital as the AIDS clinical diagnosis and treatment center, combining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the infectious disease hospital may become an essential form of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the future.