Energy consumption by building sector becomes more and more important in a rapid growing economy like China. Tremendous efforts have been made on building energy conservation (BEC) to comply with the national energy-saving policies over the last three decades. At the same time, with the increasing awareness of the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ), Ministry of Health (MoH) also initiates the related standards to fulfill the needs. BEC and IAQ are two main concerns in the current building management practice. This paper makes an attempt, based on the regulations and standards in chronological order, to elaborate the followings: (1) the development history of BEC and IAQ management in civil buildings in China, (2) the interplay and sometimes seeming conflicts of BEC and IAQ management in the real practice, (3) the importance of proper communications between related authorities in setting up cross-linked regulations to ensure the success of better building managements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.