Abstract: A correct understanding of Leninism and its contemporary values is an urgent need to hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics and carry out socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics. Leninism is the ideology of Lenin in the stage of monopoly capitalism, leading the Russian proletarian revolution and carrying out preliminary exploration of socialist construction. It arises from the needs of the proletarian revolutionary era under imperialism and has important contemporary significance. Leninism realized the organic combination of the basic principles of Marxism with the Russian socialist revolution and construction practice, promoted the new development of Marxism, opened up the road of nationalization and popularization of Marxism, and revealed the basic trend of modern civilization and its realization path by pointing out the direction and road for the further development of human society. Leninism provided the important ideological foundation for both Mao Zedong Thought from practices in China, and the theoretical system of socialism Chinese characteristics.