Long-term field experiments are invaluable in exploration of agricultural sustainability and ecosystem evolution over long period. The peanut continuous cropping – fertilization experiment, locating at the Yingtan Ecological Experimental Station of Red Soil, Chinese Academy of Sciences was established since 1996 and has lasted for 30 years. The experiment comprises four treatments, i.e., chemical fertilizers alone (CF), combined CF and trace element fertilizers (CF-T), pig manure (PM), and combined PM and trace element fertilizers (PM-T). In this article, advances obtained from the long-term experiment were summarized based on literature analysis. These were mainly associated with soil physicochemical properties, continuous cropping obstacle control, peanut quality, soil microbial responses, soil environment quality and soil health assessment. In the future, the research should focuse on topics in relation to the experimental treatment as well as the ongoing global changes and emerging environmental problems.