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The concept of moral status has been very widely invoked in the ethical evaluation of science and technology, but it has not yet been clearly articulated and therefore does not play the important role it should. This work attempts to provide a systematic justification of the concept of moral status and, in doing so, to reflect on various normative theories and to analyse the ethical dilemmas arising from scientific, technological and social developments. Chapters 1-4 provide a general account of the concept of moral status and the current state of relevant research: the basic meaning of moral status is explored; the different views on the origin, nature and requirements of moral status are elaborated and the consensus views of existing research on the concept of moral status are summarised; the distinctive theoretical functions of the concept of moral status are further clarified by addressing the relationship between moral status and other important concepts; The concept of moral status as membership of a species is argued. Chapters 5-7 provide in-depth arguments on the foundations, nature and requirements of moral status, attempt to reconstruct the concept of moral status in some of the major ethical traditions of China and the West, and analyse the concept of moral status as articulated in cutting-edge research in contemporary moral philosophy, thereby deriving basic ethical principles that can guide action: the "necessary good" of not harming people; the "necessary good" in others; and the "good" in others. "The ethical principles that can guide action are: not to harm the 'necessary good' of others; to give assistance when the 'necessary good' of others is seriously threatened and I am in a position to do so; and the equal moral status of all actors. Chapters 8-10 analyse the ethical dilemmas associated with the development of biomedical technologies such as human enhancement, organ transplantation, and head transplantation, and further elaborate and justify these basic ethical principles in the context of an analysis of real-life ethical issues.