The succession of macrobenthic fauna of Southern Bohai Sea over the past 50 years was analyzed based on its recent status in 2011 and 2013, and the historical data obtained essentially from the same sampling area. In the past 50 years, the macrobenthic assemblages of Southern Bohai Sea have undergone some succession, including changes in species composition, key species, biomass, and abundance, as well as the temporal and spatial changes in distribution pattern. The average total species number showed an obvious yearly fluctuation over past 50 years, which can be broadly divided into three periods: First period (before 1960s), the characteristics of macrobenthic fauna during this period were represented by relatively low total species number, high value of biomass and abundance, and commercial mollusks and crustacean as the two dominant groups; Second period (from 1980s to 2006), the macrobenthic fauna was represented by increasing species number, decreasing biomass values, and small body-sized mollusks and echinoderms emerging as the dominant groups; Third period (since 2006), the increased value of biomass and dominated groups of mollusks and crustacean in macrobenthic community reflected a certain degree of recovery. The integrated effects from both, the changes in climate, and the anthropogenic disturbances that happened in Southern Bohai Sea over the past 50 years (such as aquaculture, coastal land reclamation and sewage discharge), were suggested to be the trigger factors for these long-term community successions.