1^st　｜　1962

•    The Government Information Office announced 1962 Regulations of Golden Horse Awards for Outstanding Mandarin Films, officially founding Golden Horse Awards with eighteen categories. Award for film will grant a Golden Horse Awards statuette while award for individual will grant cash prize.

•    The Regulations requires all films submitted for competition must acquire screening permit, with Mandarin or dubbing, of righteous or educational meaning; applicant must be domestic production company, or company run by overseas Chinese and member of local professional association or approved by overseas consulate.

　3^rd　｜　1965

•    Best Art Design Award is added and divided to colour and black-and-white.

•    Best Music Award is divided to two sub-categories: For Musical and For Non-Musical.

　6^th　｜　1968

•    The Golden Horse Awards adds three categories: Best News Pictorial, Best Writer and Director of News Pictorial, and Best Cinematography for News Pictorial

　7^th　｜　1969

•    The Golden Horse Awards adds two categories: Best Cartoon and Best Writer and Director of Cartoon Films

　8^th　｜　1970

•    Excellent Feature Film and Excellent Documentary are increased: the former from three to four, the latter from two to three.

•    Personal cash prize is cancelled and replaced with a statuette of golden horse.

　9^th　｜　1971

•    Excellent Feature Film and Excellent Documentary are expanded to increase winning chance for private production company.

•    News Pictorial Awards are cancelled; news pictorial made by film company is subsumed under documentary category while those made for TV are transferred to Golden Bell Awards.

　15^th　｜　1978

•    Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction are no longer classified as colour or black-and-white.

　16^th　｜　1979

•    Best Screenplay Award is divided into Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay

•    Best Music for Musical remains while Best Music for Non-Musical is divided into Best Feature Film Score and Best Film Song.

　18^th　｜　1981

•    Best Costume Design Award is added.

•    Best Score Award is divided into Best Original Score and Best Adapted Score.

•    Four categories are cancelled: Excellent Feature Film, Excellent Documentary, Best Production for Documentary and Best Cinematography for Documentary.

　20^th　｜　1983

•    The Sandwich Man aroused controversy of eligibility for its language; The Government Information Office eventually concluded that no more than half of the dialogue is Hokkien and affirmed its eligibility.

　22^nd　｜　1985

•    Best Documentary Director Award is added.

•    Best Child Performer Award is cancelled.

　26^th　｜　1989

•    Full Moon in New York is confirmed with no funding from China and granted screening permit to secure its eligibility for the competition; however, one of the leading actress SIQIN Gaowa’s nationality is neither Taiwan nor Hong Kong thus ineligible to submit in acting category. Eight Tales of Gold violated the law for hiring Chinese actors and therefore ineligible to compete.

　27^th　｜　1990

•    Best Cartoon is renamed as Best Animated Film; Best Costume Design is renamed as Best Costume and Makeup Design.

•    Best Music Original Score and Best Music Adapted Score are combined into Best Feature Film Music.

•    Best Documentary Director Awards is cancelled.

　28^th　｜　1991

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility for individual: any Chinese-origin filmmaker is eligible to submit, but limited to those who join film association in Taiwan or Hong Kong. Australian cinematographer Christopher DOYLE protests on the restriction for excluding non-Chinese filmmaker.

　29^th　｜　1992

•    Two categories are added: Best Martial Art Direction Award and Audience Choice Award.

•    Best Film Song is renamed as Best Feature Film Song.

•    Mainland Affairs Council granted public screening for films with no more than half of Chinese filmmakers as main crew; in the following year (1993), submission to Golden Horse Awards is open to such film as well.

　30^th　｜　1993

•    Chinese Filmmaker Special Award is added (but only presented once)

•    Best Martial Art Direction is renamed as Best Action Choreography.

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility for individual: all filmmakers in submitting film could submit for Golden Horse Awards, but those of foreign origin must have participated in at least three Taiwanese films and joined the film association in Taiwan or Hong Kong to be considered eligible.

　31^st  ｜　1994

•    The Committee concluded that films against the rule of Chinese filmmaker ratio (no more than half of the main crew), even with award credit from first-class international film festival, are still ineligible to compete for Golden Horse Awards. Farewell My Concubine and To Live are therefore ineligible.

　32^nd　｜　1995

•    Best Visual Technology award is added.

　33^rd　｜　1996

•    Best Short Film Award is added for feature film no more than sixty minutes in length.

•    Best Visual Technology is renamed as Best Visual Effects.

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility: all Chinese-language films, including Hokkien and other dialects, are eligible to submit regardless of production country, funding ratio or nationality of crew. It is the first time to include films of China in competition.

　34^th　｜　1997

•    The Government Information Office abolished the Regulations of Golden Horse Awards for Outstanding Mandarin Films, re-positioning Golden Horse Awards as a Chinese-language film competition worldwide. Subsidy for the awarding ceremony and budget for the awards are allocated to the committee for organizing relevant events.

•    Two categories, Jury Award and Special Jury Award, are added to encourage films and filmmakers of Taiwan.

•    Best Feature Film Music is renamed as Best Original Film Score; Best Feature Film Song is renamed as Best Original Film Song.

　36^th　｜　1999

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility: remove the restriction that submitting film must be granted screening permit, and that Chinese film must be accredited by relevant authority of China.

　37^th　｜　2000

•    Best New Performer Award is added to encourage new performers with great potential.

•    In regard to the trend of international coproduction, eligibility for Jury Award and Special Jury Award extends to films with at least half of Taiwanese main crew, regardless of its funding sources.

　38^th　｜　2001

•    Jury Award is renamed as Special Jury Award for Film; Jury Special Award is renamed as Special Jury Award for Filmmaker.

　39^th　｜　2002

•    Special Jury Award for Film is renamed as Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year; Special Jury Award for Filmmaker is renamed as Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year.

　43^rd　｜　2006

•    Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year is renamed as Formosa Film Award; Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year is renamed as Formosa Filmmaker Award.

　44^th　｜　2007

•    Formosa Film Award is renamed Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year; Formosa Filmmaker Award is renamed Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year.

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility in response to the trend of international coproduction: film with its director and half of the main crew as Chinese is eligible, regardless of its language.

　45^th　｜　2008

•    The Committee established The Order Of Chevalier to recognize filmmaker with long-term devotion to Chinese-language films (only presented once)

　46^th　｜　2009

•    Expansion of Awards Eligibility in regard to the development of digital technology: film publicly screened in Taiwan theater with at least 20 screenings in the first week is eligible, even if it is not in 35mm or 16mm format.

　47^th　｜　2010

•    Best New Director Award is added to encourage new director with their feature debut.

　48^th　｜　2011

•    In regard to the trend of coproduction in Chinese filmmaking, Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year is cancelled.

　49^th　｜　2012

•    In response to the rapid growth of Chinese-language film industry, increasing submission results in increase of nominees.

•    Best Documentary and Best Animated Feature: no more than four nominees (previously three)

•    Eighteen categories for individual, including Best Director: no more than five nominees (previously four)

•    Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year: no more than four nominees (previously three)

•    Cash prize for nominees is cancelled.

　50^th　｜　2013

•    In regard to the trend of digital projection, screening format for submission is restricted to either 35mm print or DCP (Digital Cinema Package).

　51^st　｜　2014

•    Nominees of three categories are increased. Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Short Film: no more than five nominees

•    Recipient of Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year is directly voted by jury of the second stage, instead of selecting no more than four nominees. (previously three)

　53^rd　｜　2016

•    Best Short Film is divided into Best Live Action Short Film and Best Animated Short Film to encourage the animation production in Chinese-language cinema.

•    In light of the booming creation of documentaries and the increasing number of submissions, “Best Documentary Short Film” is added to the award category. The documentary competition now includes documentary feature and documentary short sections.