RESUMO
Life education is an important course for cultivating students’ comprehensive quality， shaping their personality， and inheriting civilization. This paper compared the historical evolution， teaching contents， and practical approaches of life education between Chinese and American university students， and summarized the following problems faced by life education for Chinese university students： national legislative support and financial support can still be improved； there were few independent life education courses offered in colleges and universities and lack of practical activities； education on setbacks， adversity， and life values， and the students’ ability to independently solve difficulties needed to be improved； the lack of death education and other main challenges. Afterwards， this paper summarized the development of life education in the United States， life education courses were widely and comprehensively offered and had a long history； the content emphasized education on character， setbacks， and safety， more importantly， guided students to face life and death， and practical courses such as end-of-life care drills were provided to establish a positive outlook on life and death for students； the government had introduced laws and regulations to support， and families attached importance to cultivating children’s self-care ability， Finally， it proposed that the life education of Chinese university students should be based on their own cultural and social background： universities should seek breakthroughs in the construction of life education courses， society should form a joint effort to create the atmosphere of life education， and university students should reflect on life education issues independently.