Based on The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas Chinese and Relatives of Overseas Chinese as well as policies made by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council，this paper defines and analyzes the legal terms Overseas Chinese（Huaqiao），Chinese overseas（Huaren），returned overseas Chinese（Guiqiao）arid relatives of overseas Chinese（Qiaojuan）as well as the non-legal terms international migrants（Guoji Yimin）and ethnic Chinese（Huayi），arid examines the reasons why these definitions are mixed and have not been standardized. Overseas Chinese and Chinese' overseas are not only about terminology but also have different essential meanings. The mixture of definitions would cause misunderstandings of the government's policies towards overseas Chinese，inappropriate advocacy and implementation of policies，and the negative impact on overseas Chinese's life and development and China's friendship with other countries. Therefore，the government，news media and academics should pay attention to this issue and find solutions. The government should promote advocacy on policies and regulations so that news media and the society can understand these policies and regulations and reduce misunderstandings. News media should be cautious of the use of terminology. Academics should pay more attention to definitions and conduct more case studies.