Since the mid-1950s of the last century, quality of life research at the macro level rise and gradually into the policymakers' perspective in the western countries. In the 1980s, researchers from mainland China began to explore quality of life at macro level. Entering the new century, and especially since 2006, the quality of life research in mainland China entered into a new stage. The well-being index has gradually become the focus of attention of the academia, the media and the policymakers. Based on examining the quality of life research at macro level in mainland China, this article discusses the meaning of well-being index, its measurement and policy functions, and think about some concerned problems in current and future research.