Abstract: In order to guide the current and future cross-breeding work of soybean, 116 effective parents, 5 610 hybrid combinations and 110 varieties selected for cross-breeding in Jiamusi Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences from 1952 to 2013 were systematically studied and analyzed. The results showed that the optimum annual size of hybrid combinations was 150-200, and the predicted breeding probability was 1.96%. The selection of parents should be based on breeding theory, breeding goal and genetic background. The principle of parental selection should insist on improving the level, considering the parental consanguinity and genetic basis, considering the parental combining ability（general combining ability and special combining ability） and considering the genetic characteristics of target traits. The use of parents should determine the core parents（backbone parents） and improved parents, use step hybridization, continuous transformation, or backcross transfer, directional improvement, or one mother and multiple father, concentrated siege, or use multi-parent hybridization, polymerization breeding.