Abstract:The "selection of subject" of science and technology programs is the start of scientific research, and the quality of the selected subjects determines the quality of innovation to a large extent. Major national science and technology programs, as the core carriers of science and technology innovation activities, bear the mission of national science and technology innovation. Optimizing the organizational management of major science and technology programs is a major task for deepening the reform of the science and technology system in the new era. This study, from the perspective of realizing high-level self-reliance in science and technology, expounds the composition of national science and technology plans and major science and technology programs and models of selecting subjects for different types of major national science and technology programs, analyzes the experience of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in selecting subjects for major research projects, and shares some thoughts and suggestions such as adopting differentiated subject selection mechanisms based on the research nature of major science and technology programs, introducing a "demand check" mechanism for the subject selection of exploratory technology R&D and strategic technology R&D projects and a "three-point review" on the subject selection of strategic basic research and strategic technology R&D.