Abstract: Electric spark sintering is one of new techniques in powder metallurgy.Central Iron and Steel Research Institute (CISRI) built the first electric spark sintering machine in China in 1979 and put it into production. The paper describes electric spark sintering technique and illustrates that it consists of two processes, i. e. light pressing. and follow-up (spark and activation), and forming by heavy pressing. (hot plastic deformation and densification). In the stage of spark and activation, with the micro-spark produced on the surface of powder particle,some effects in favour of high speed sintering which cannot occure at all or are difficult to happen in normal sintering were presented. Hovever, the necessary condition for keeping micro-spark is light pressing and follow-up. The paper gives rather detail description about it. Furthermore, the authors introduce examples of various electric spark sintered new materials, and products developed in recent years, such as the changes of oxygen contents in sintere pper powder, the sintering of copper-titanium components system, the changes of strength of sintered diamond, the sintering of iron base materials with high graphite contents and the sintering of cemented carbides. The wide applications of electric spark sintering in powder metallurgy have been briefly outlined.