To enhance the cultural construction and promote the cultural development, we must have an accurate knowledge and good grasp of cultural development in the contemporary era. Only when we have a general understanding of the new characteristics and trends of cultural structure and development in the contemporary era, can we see clearly the position of Chinese culture in the world structure, and then define the direction and strategy of its development. With the in-depth progress of globalization, the contemporary cultural development mainly indicates such new characteristics as the integration of cultural development, the capitalization of cultural dynamics, the differentiation of cultural tendency, the personalization of cultural production and the aggregation of cultural risk. A profound revelation and analysis of these new characteristics will benefit the study of Chinese current cultural development and enhance the cultural development in a pertinent and rational way.