Low carbon economy （LCE） is the inevitable choice for the sustainable development of human beings. This paper introduces the concept and background of LCE，the strategic focus and path for developing LCE in several major industrialized countries，and discussed the LCE issue of Guangzhou，including the targets，measures and achievement；challenges and restrains faced by Guangzhou LCE were explored and strategies were presented accordingly.This paper observed that Chinese government has promulgated and enacted a series of laws，regulations and policies to cope with the climate changes；Guangzhou also took the lead in this aspect，setting targeting and measures to encourage energy saving，emission reduction，circular economy，to develop renewable energy and to upgrade industry structure，notable progress has been achieved and a well-functioned LCE program coordination mechanism has been established. Considering the rapid economic growth and heavy demand for high carbon energy in Guangzhou，it’s urgent to upgrade the LCE technology，to encourage green manufacturing，to speed up the low carbon city operation scheme and to emphasize the LCE in rural areas.