Abstract: An understanding of the statistical characteristics of human behavior involves the study of many fundamental problems in economics, psychology, transportation, and sociology. In recent times, statistical studies have revealed many new unexpected patterns of human behavior which have attracted much attention. These discoveries are important for our understanding of mankind itself, and for basic studies of a large number of problems in the social sciences. There are also broad prospects for their practical applications. This article will review the main results in this newly developing research area, with emphasis on the progress obtained by the Complex System Research Group at the University of Science and Technology of China.