２０世纪７０年代末和８０年代初，当发达国家的绝大部分地区陷入衰退与停滞时，少数几个地区的经济却呈复苏甚至增长的势头，这些地区在经济运作模式上的相似性，引起了研究者的兴趣。由于它们和历史上马歇尔所描述过的产业区有惊人的相似之处，学者们将他们归为一类，称之为新产业区。本文对正在向纵深发展的关于新产业区的国际学术讨论作了简要的评述，并探讨了新产业区理论在我国的研究背景与进展。

New industrial district is by now a well known concept for many geographers of the wolrd. Its literature has been embodied in critique and counter critique, reflecting concern about the theoretical and empirical status of the claims, as well as the significance of the districts. The new industrial district originally is defined as essentially a territorial system of small and medium sized firms with spatially concentrated networks, often using flexible production technology and characterized by extensive local inter firm linkages. This paper introduces the concept of new industrial district and the background of the issue of international study and discussion on the new industrial district.