Abstract: Local applied universities are an important category of universities in China. Individualization and specialization are the inevitable strategic options for the development of local applied universities. Chinese universities usually confine their consideration of speciality-oriented development to how to solve the problem of individual behaviors tending to converge. This single positioning is not only contrary to the original meaning of speciality but also unable to reflect the multiple interpretations of modern universities. The speciality-oriented development of local applied universities is supposed to target national characteristics, university characteristics, class characteristics and school characteristics. Each index has its rich and specific connotations. The key to shifting the speciality-oriented development of local applied universities from the conceptual level to the practical level is clarifying its main structure and relationship and determining what practical strategies the local government, the school and the society should adopt in promoting speciality-oriented development.