Abstract: Tea plantations in Chinaconsume an enormous amount of fertilizer annually. At the same time,inappropriate applications of N, P and K fertilizers are commonly observed.Consequently, considerable inefficient utilization and resource waste as wellas environmental pollution has become a serious concern. By reviewing and analyzingvolumes of published literature, this article underscores the detrimentaleffects of inadequate fertilization practices on soil quality as well as yieldand quality of the tea produced at the plantations to bring forth the alarmingsituation. Based on the update information, recommendations on how to properlyfertilize the land for a sustainable tea cultivation are presented.