The species composition, growth characteristics and geographical origin of alien invasive edible plants in China were analyzed based on the literature. An invasive plant species ranking system was also developed to assess the edibility of various invasive plants using several criteria. The results showed that there were 114 invasive edible plants belonging to 30 families in China. Most of them belonged to Gramineae, Leguminosae, Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae and Onagraceae. Perennial and annual herbs accounted for the majority. America was the primary geographical origin of these alien invasive plants. Most these edible plants were introduced intentionally by human activities and could be directly fed to humans, livestock, and poultry. The stems and leaves of invasive edible plants were the main edible organs. The numbers of the high, moderate and lowgrade invasive edible plants were 9, 76 and 29 respectively. The majority of the alien invasive edible plants had moderately edible values. Our results provided an initial indication that the population risks of some invasive plants might be decreased via developing their edibility.