Abstract: Cephalosporins are the most widely used antibiotics in China. Their quality has been closely watched by the drug regulatory authorities and patients. Cephalosporins are usually prepared by chemical modification or enzyme catalysis with microbial ferments or derivatives thereof as a key starting material. The final quality of the cephalosporins is closely related to the quality of the key starting materials. This paper aims to discuss the quality control strategies for key starting materials commonly used for cephalosporins, which can be referred by relevant R&D and production companies.