Rosa rugosa is a shrub species native to eastern China, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. The species is a key component of sand plant communities in its native range and a globally important germplasm resource for ornamental rose breeding. After introduction into Europe as a hardy, resistant garden rose in the 18th century, R. rugosa escaped and invaded many countries around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as well as sandy coasts of North America. However, wild R. rugosa populations in China have decreased continuously over the past three decades. Consequentially, the species is considered rare and endangered in China, and is listed in the China Plant Red Data Book. A large number of studies have focused on the expanding R. rugosa populations in northwestern Europe and the shrinking populations in China. To identify future research directions, a comprehensive overview of the literature is crucial to gain insight into linkages and gaps among different studies. In this review, we analyze previous studies on the population biology of R. rugosa to clarify the ecological characteristics and changes of its distribution range in China. In addition, we discuss the potential factors driving the decrease of the native populations in China. Overall, R. rugosa populations in China suffer from reduced reproduction, poor seed quality, eroded genetic diversity due to genetic drift, and strong pressures from habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbances. The fenced enclosure of protected areas that has preserved existing shrubs has also stimulated the facilitated succession of plant communities and overgrowth of some tall grass species. External habitat degradation and internal genetic erosion may be contributing to the population decrease in China. According to research on invasive R. rugosa populations in northwestern Europe, the species is disturbance-favored and has expanded very quickly in its invasive range. It frequently forms large, dense and continuous monodominant shrub zones that exclude native species and plant communities from the North Sea and the Baltic Sea dunes and sandy beaches. Most of the invasive populations exhibit increased seed reproduction, mixture of multiple varieties, release from herbivory and parasitism. We infer that the evolved high adaptation of R. rugosa to novel environments, resistance to pathogens in its introduced range, and inappropriate anthropogenic disturbances are the main factors driving its invasion success. After comparing differences between endangered and invasive populations of R. rugosa, we propose that future research should focus on the following aspects: (1) comparative research on quantitative dynamics and genetic structure of endangered and invasive R. rugosa populations; (2) dynamic monitoring of natural R. rugosa populations and individual shrubs in its native and invasive ranges; (3) examining the differences of functional genes and genomics among R. rugosa populations and individual shrubs, therefore to discover specific genes or genotypes related to population invasiveness and/or depression; and (4) designing control or conservation strategies based on population biology of R. rugosa. By focusing on population dynamics, ecological genomics and the driving forces behind the decrease and expansion of R. rugosa, future work may lead to the development of efficient population management approaches and provide new insights into the evolutionary adaptation of species with similar features.