Pressures on resources and the environment bring the global electricity industry to smart grid times. Key to making the grid“smarter” is to fully and dynamically integrate customers， their loads， and information about their usage into the operation of the grid. Thus， demand side management is one of the primary components of the smart grid. The researchers introduce some demand side management technologies and the application obstacles. This paper foresees future of demand side management operation in the smart grid times. Finally， the steps and suggestion with reference to demand side management construction under smart grid framework of China are proposed.