Adverse climatic changes and rapid urbanization are converging to challenge the storm water drainage system in Shanghai. Beginning in the 1980s, Shanghai has become one of the world's top ten megacity; the economy and population growth are not expected to slow down significantly in the coming years. This paper will summarize previous studies, review past flood events, analyze recent progressive developments, and provide several key suggestions for the improvement of the storm water drainage system and alleviation of flooding risk in Shanghai; which are: 1. Strengthen the flood risk management strategy for the Tai Lake basin, intervening to increase discharge capacity and lower water levels by applying decision-aid techniques, based on reducing downstream flood risk of the Huangpu River basin. 2. Flow augmentation and water quality rehabilitation, effectively reassessing structural and non-structural measures, not solely to focus on large retention storage, but also to augment remediated stream flux; thereby, improving water quality in Suzhou Creek. 3. Improve existing Government public works policy, modification of old drainage system, focusing on removal of pollutants from roadway runoff and establishing a modern sewerage system. 4. Incorporate sustainability measures as a necessary strategy for design and operation of the drainage system in compliance with regulations of the Shanghai Municipality City Planning. A final recommendation will be made for improvement of drainage system in Shanghai.