Abstract: Oncomelania hupensis is the only intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum. Its breeding and distribution can directly affect the endemic range and transmission of schistosomiasis, for which control of Oncomelania snail represents one of important measures to interrupt and eliminate the transmission of schistosomiasis. Mollusciciding serves as an effective countermeasure for control and elimination of the snails, especially for controlling the infected snails. However, with increasing attention to environmental protection, particularly with the Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China enacted, implementation of snail control by chemical drugs in snail habitats along the Yangtze River faces great challenges. This paper attempts to analyze the current challenges of mollusciding for snail control, and put forward certain countermeasures concerning snail control with molluscicide in the context of environmental protection and economic construction of the Yangtze River based on review of the major molluscicides currently used and methods of killing snails. 

Key words: Environmental restoration and protection, Mollusciciding, Snail control, Challenges and countermeasures