High-quality rice varieties in southern China have shown significant improvements in grain yield from 2007 to 2017. Indica rice varieties saw an increase in grain yield and yield traits, while japonica rice varieties also showed improvements. Hybrid rice had higher grain yield due to more spikelets, while inbred rice had fewer panicles. Japonica rice had higher grain yield than indica rice, thanks to seed-set percentage and optimized structure. Zhejiang province had the highest grain yield due to increased spikelets and seed-set percentage. Future breeding should focus on improving panicles and seed-set percentage for hybrid rice and spikelets for inbred rice, especially grain weight for indica inbred rice.