本研究旨在探討臺灣自脫離日本統治後至今（1945～2004）長達六十年繪本之發展與研究現況。繪本的說法源於日本，於1976年由鄭明進在兒童文學週刊中介紹日本繪本的發展，始將此辭彙引進國內，在此之前均稱為圖畫書、圖畫故事書、童書、兒童讀物…等。繪本原被歸類為兒童文學之一類，以連續且具意義的系列插畫呈現最具感染力的內容。以此媒體性質，已超脫於兒童文學之外，甚至出現了成人繪本。繪本更是全世界不分種族共通的媒介之一，值得深入探討。 研究方法與實施：藉由基礎文獻回顧，探討繪本之定義、特點、功能、構成要素、近年在臺灣盛行之原因、發展分期、世界各國繪本相關獎項給臺灣之借鏡、國際組織IBBY、歷年國際安徒生大獎得主。相關研究探討方面，則檢索1991～2004年間，國內學術界所作之繪本相關研究，以探討繪本研究之趨向。這中間更闡述了兒童繪本與成人繪本之區別、繪本主體性研究與繪本功能性研究之探討。 研究發現與結論：透過本研究發現臺灣種種繪本發展現象之問題、並提出建議，以提升這一塊的創意產業，並以此開拓更廣大的市場。

The Study centers on the 60-year's (from 1945 to 2004) development of picture books and the current researches since the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan. The term 'picture book' dates back to 1976 when Zheng Ming-jin first introduced the development of Japanese picture books in a weekly children's literature publication. Earlier, these books were known as Picture Story Books or Children's Books. Picture books, which fall under the category of children's literature, present the most absorbing content in series of meaningful pictures. The use of pictures as a medium crossed the boundary of children's literature when books for adults began to appear. This is worth looking into as the use of this medium is not limited to any particular racial group in the world. ● Research method and implementation: based on past literatures, the study probes into the definition of picture books, their characteristic features, function, constituting elements, the reason for their current prevalence in Taiwan, their developmental stages, related picture book awards in the world, the IBBY, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award winners over the years. Related studies are conducted on books by the local academia published between 1991 and 2004 to determine the trend in picture book research. The study also brings out the differences between books for children and adults as well as the subjective nature and as functionality of picture books. ● Findings and Conclusion: the study addresses the developmental issues of picture books in Taiwan and puts forward a few suggestions. It is also hoped that this section of the creative industry would be uplifted and the market expanded.