Abstract:Tackling original and leading problems of science and technology (TOLPST) is the key to strengthening national strategic scientific and technological forces and achieving scientific and technological self-reliance of China. The national superconductivity research which began in 1987 is a typical TOLPST. It has helped China's high-temperature superconductivity research leap from backwardness, follow-up phase to parallel running state or even leading position, but it did not produce original innovation. The historical experience of national superconductivity research has important implications for TOLPST: (1) Basic research should be categorized and accurately implemented, especially the original innovation should be distinguished from the application-oriented research or that breaks bottlenecks. (2) China should speed up the cultivation of strategic scientists and give full play to their pivotal role that connects the government and the scientific community. (3) China should strengthen the construction of the national innovation platform, and transform part of the concentrated TOLPST into long-term support for strategic scientific and technological forces.