The geodesy discipline has been evolving and constantly intersecting and merging with other disciplines in the last 50 years, due to the continuous progress of geodetic observation techniques and expansion of application fields. This paper first introduces the development and roles of geodesy and its formation. Secondly, the development status of geodesy discipline is analyzed from the progress of observation techniques and cross-discipline formation is analyzed from the expansion of application fields. Furthermore,the development trend of geodesy is stated from the perspective of national requirements and scientific developments. Finally, the sub-disciplines for geodesy are suggested at the present stage, based on the requirements of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and development status of geodesy itself, which can provide references for topic selection and fund application of geodetic scientific research.