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The purpose of this paper is to examine the current status of competency modeling in Chinese organizations, and explore approaches to further advancing related research and practice.

A literature review method with a content analysis approach was adopted. Based on the pattern of the literature, a three‐level competency modeling framework was derived. It was then used to analyze the research and practice of competency modeling in China.

The paper finds that Chinese literature has been focused on competencies for job qualifications. The practice in Chinese organizational setting has not achieved the strategic potential of competency modeling. Research on competency modeling has lagged behind the practice. Both research and practice pointed to the skills of human resource professionals as a critically component for strategic application of competency modeling.

The paper identifies three research‐to‐practice gaps and recommends directions for future research.

The paper recommends approaches to enhance the strategic contribution of competency modeling for Human resource management (HRM) practice.

The paper contributes to the HRM literature by focusing on a pervasive HRM practice competency modeling. It offers a comprehensive review and analysis on both the research and practice of competency modeling in China.