Abstract: China, Vietnam, and Italy have long been among the top three in the world in export volume of footwear products. The total export volume of the three countries has accounted for nearly 70% of the world total. Based on the export data in the UN Comtrade database from 2001 to 2020, this article analyzes the evolution of the international competitiveness of the footwear products of the three countries through the international market share, the revealed comparative advantage index and the trade competitive advantage index. The results show that China's footwear products have obvious advantages in the international market share, but they have declined rapidly since 2014; the revealed comparative advantage index and the trade competitive advantage index have generally shown a downward trend, and the trade competitive advantage index has declined significantly since 2014; The industrial competitiveness of China's footwear industry has been declining year by year. It is challenged by emerging countries such as Vietnam in the low-end market, and squeezed by established powers such as Italy in the high-end market. Based on the above results, the countermeasures and suggestions for improving the international competitiveness of China's shoe industry are proposed.