Based on information about cases of environmental pollution crimes heard by people’s courts in China from July 2013 through October 2014，this paper presents the characteristics of environmental crimes since the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate released a set of interpretations concerning environmental criminal justice. The paper’s key findings include：①a sharp increase in the number of cases of environmental pollution crimes；②an uneven regional distribution；③the wide application of certain provisions in the aforementioned interpretations；④organizations apart from enterprises with an annual output at or above a certain threshold accounting for the majority of environmental pollution crimes；⑤deeper punishment for crimes involving hazardous wastes；⑥the first instances of cases involving illegal disposal of imported solid wastes；⑦a significant decrease in the number of criminal cases involving a breach of duty in environmental regulation. Based on the aforementioned findings，this article will identify several issues in the practice of environmental justice that require rapid improvement.