The present study deals with the relationship between terminology evolution and legal development. Altogether 100 Chinese legal terms are randomly collected from Chinese statutes in order to examine the legal development in China from 1912 to the present. The results demonstrate that terminology evolution acts as a prerequisite and driving force for legal development in China via three evolution patterns: localization, internationalization and standardization. Terminology evolution serves as the mechanism for absorbing, communicating and mediating legal rules, which renders Chinese legal terminology more suited to its social and cultural contexts, and hence promotes overall legal development. It is also observed that terminology evolution is not only playing a vital role in the development of the legal system in China, but also acting as the beneficiary of such legal development.