Building sector is one of the primary culprits of environmental deterioration and energy consumption. Green building (GB) can be an effective solution to these challenges and has been prioritised by many nations, while the quality of most GBs was still low. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the application of GB techniques. In specific, an empirical study was conducted among 106 GBs in China. Results indicate that both water-saving and site planning categories received the highest achievements, followed by indoor environmental quality and energy-saving, and the material-saving and innovation categories were the most difficult to achieve. The items in site planning, energy-saving and indoor environmental quality clusters that depended more on design techniques could be realised evenly, while the water-saving and material-saving clusters that relied more on materials and equipment witnessed two extremes: one approaching to 100% and one close to zero. There could be an increase in technique achievement from low-quality GBs to high-quality GBs. Nevertheless, the achievements of many items were extremely in both one-star, and two- and three-star groups. Some even witnessed the reduction from the low-quality GBs to the high-quality GBs. A further investigation indicated that the unavailability of GB technique checklist, the impact of economic cost, low technological operability and the unavailability of GB products constrained the GB technique application. The combining impacts of them could further lower the GB technique application. To unlock these barriers, efforts should be made from the perspective of (1) revision and localisation of GB standard, (2) extensive technical support, (3) government regulations and support, and (4) the co-benefits: integration with other programmes. Overall, this paper is of value to improve GB technique application and facilitate the transitions towards higher quality GB agenda.