Bougainvillea spp. is a famous woody vine flower in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Preference for hotness and not hardy to coldness limited its application in the north of the subtropical area. Geographical distribution and varieties cultivation in China were surveyed in this paper. From aspects of cold-tolerance varieties screening, temperature adaptable region division as well as seed-sowing domestication, the study and practice of Bougainvillea spp. in urban greening of Shanghai were summarized. Furthermore, the strategy and perspective of cold-tolerance domestication in future were discussed. Bougainvillea spp. has the ability to be tolerant to a low temperature above 0℃ to a certain extent. But exposing it to a low temperature below -3℃ would lead to dying out. The protective measure is necessary once extremely low temperatures come. Planting in a microclimate of leeward and sunny sites, a horticultural measure such as wind shelter and warm keeping and also seed- sowing domestication will be helpful for cold resistance. To expand cultivation, cold-resistance varieties breeding is still the future research objective. This paper is of great significance to increasing cold-tolerance adaptability and expanding of cultivation region to Bougainvillea spp.