With an overview of the development of applied anthropology in the United States in terms of research topics, funding sources, and research goals, this article points out the characteristics of this sub-field of anthropology as being simultaneously the most critical for the establishment of general anthropological ethics and the most subjective target of external scrutiny. Applied visual anthropology further provides concrete examples to illustrate the type of potential ethical challenges that may confront applied anthropologists who employ interdisciplinary methods in their research or intervention. The historical and politico-economic background of anthropologies in various Chinese communities has been different. The US case may exemplify an ethical imagery containing both the contorted historical processes and major controversies for us to understand the potential Chinese applied anthropology community in the making.