Abstract: The Heavy Ion Research Facility of Lanzhou (HIRFL) consists of ion sources, injector Sector Focusing Cyclotron (SFC) and main accelerator Separated Sector Cyclotron (SSC). The beam produced by the ion sources is pre-accelerated by injector SFC, and injected into main accelerator SSC, after passing through the former beam line. Then, the beam is accelerated to the maximum energy and transported to the experimental terminals through the post beam lines. In this paper, the construction process, bean performances and the main structures of HIRFL are introduced. Then the beam commissioning process, the method and the operation status for SSC and the beam lines are described. At last, this paper discusses extensive applied prospects for HIRFL.