Huaxi cattle, a specialized beef cattle variety with fully independent intellectual property rights in China, marking a landmark achievement in the sector's revitalization. This systematic review synthesizes the latest research advancements in Huaxi cattle across breeding technology innovation, superior breeding stock development systems, and industrial application. It comprehensively outlines the landmark breakthroughs achieved since the launch of the National Beef Cattle Breeding Joint Research Initiative during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, highlighting the continuous performance improvements and gradual refinement of its industrial ecosystem. The study maps out the over four-decade evolution of Huaxi cattle from breed development to widespread adoption, summarizing replicable best practices of deep industry-academia-research collaboration among research institutions, leading enterprises, and livestock farmers. It identifies current challenges in core breeding stock supply capabilities, cross-regional promotion mechanisms, and brand value enhancement, while pinpointing critical issues requiring resolution for industry upgrading. Based on these findings, the paper proposes medium-to-long-term optimization strategies tailored to China's beef cattle industry needs—including refining collaborative breeding mechanisms, strengthening core breeding technologies, expanding breeding populations to ensure sustainable supply chains, deepening full-industry-chain integration for brand development, advancing digital transformation to establish smart breeding systems, and expanding global presence to enhance international competitiveness. These recommendations provide robust theoretical foundations and actionable insights for sustainable improvement of domestic cattle breeds, protection and efficient utilization of local genetic resources, and achieving high-quality development goals with self-reliant breeding stock control in China's beef cattle sector.