As China's largest main production area for japonica rice, Heilongjiang Province constitutes a core pillar of the national food security strategy, with a planting area accounting for 50% of the country's total and an annual output of 32 million tons. Based on the cold-region ecological characteristics and industrial practices, this study systematically analyzes its development advantages, practical challenges, and transformation paths: In terms of natural endowments, the black soil with an organic matter content exceeding 10%, annual water resources of 81 billion cubic meters, and a diurnal temperature range of 13 ℃ have laid the foundation for high-quality rice production. In terms of technology and policies, a 69.8% agricultural science and technology progress contribution rate and 99.32% mechanization rate form a collaborative driving force. The industry currently faces dual bottlenecks: at the front end of scientific and technological innovation, intelligent design breeding remains in the “2.0 era”, with insufficient investment in biotechnological breeding for resistance to rice blast, low-temperature tolerance, etc. At the terminal of achievement transformation, the “small, scattered, and weak” seed industry enterprises lead to a disconnect in industry-university-research collaboration, while the lack of intellectual property protection exacerbates transformation obstacles. The study proposes a three-dimensional development strategy: cultivating high-quality varieties such as Suijing 18 through molecular marker-assisted selection, promoting intelligent irrigation and blockchain traceability technologies to achieve a 5% increase in unit yield, and constructing a “variety-technology-brand” system to boost the brand value of geographical indication products like Wuchang Rice to 71.3 billion yuan. Research shows that Heilongjiang’s japonica rice industry needs to break through the limitation of short growth periods in cold regions through intelligent breeding and address market competition through brand upgrading. In the future, it should increase investment and exploration in scientific and technological innovation, achievement transformation, and brand building to support national food security and economic and social development.