The COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 has greatly increased the acceleration of Shanghai’s online education industry market growth and expansion. For the current large number and diverse types of online education institutions （firms），it is an opportunity to improve quality and enhance standards. As one of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities，Shanghai has established a relatively complete online and open education system that covers different ages and stages. Leading online education companies represented by Master Education，Squirrel AI，etc.，are undertaking the massive and specialized needs of cities for education under the epidemic prevention and control situation. As China’s international economic，financial，trade，shipping，and technological innovation center，Shanghai’s online education is accredited to the convenience in policy，market，and technology. However，at this stage，Shanghai online education is still facing challenges such as insufficient coordination between government，school and enterprise，system barriers that have not been broken，and fierce competition for human resources. In the future，aiming at openness，high quality，individualization，and ecologicalization，Shanghai will strive to create an online education highland that is friendly for highly fair，effective，and lifelong learning.