Chinese urban construction and development are gradually entering the development stage of deep-level optimization, and professional planners are the key to the development of cities. How to cultivate professionals who can grasp the law of urban development is a problem which should be pondered over by the universities which provide urban planning education. While in America, urban planning education started earlier, and its development is more systematic and more perfect. Therefore, this paper makes a comparative study of urban planning education in Chinese and American universities from the aspects of the development process of modern urban planning education, the influence of the government and the industry on urban planning education, the development of planning departments, the teaching contents and models and so on, clarifies the gap of urban planning education between Chinese and American universities at present, and puts forward the experience and lessons which are worth referring from the development process of urban planning education in America, as well as the possible development direction of Chinese urban planning education in the future, to provide reference and inspiration for the reform and upgrading of urban planning education in Chinese universities.