Sociology of disaster is the oldest and most influential discipline of disaster research in the United States. It also contributes a main perspective for current disaster research though there is a trend of multi-disciplinary collaboration. This essay reviews the origin，evolution and development trends of disaster sociology in the United States，focusing on the people，institutions，research contents and theories. Meanwhile，main disaster research institutes and Ph.D. programs are introduced. Finally，some suggestions about the disaster and emergency management research and training in China are discussed.