Big Data is a disruptive technology revolution of IT industry following the cloud computing and Internet of Things. Big Data mining and applications can create significant value for the world economy,will be one of the biggest market opportunities of IT field in the future. Use of Big Data puts forward higher requirements for the real-time and effectiveness of data processing,demands improving conventional data processing technology according to the characteristics of Big Data,forms the techniques appropriate to Big Data collec-tion,storage,management,processing,analysis,sharing and visualization. Introduce the concept of Big Data and its key technologies,de-scribe the opportunities and challenges brought about by the Big Data,outline the"Big Data Research and Development Initiative" of U. S. federal government.