After the first epidemic wave from February through May 2013, the influenza A (H7N9) virus emerged and has followed a second epidemic wave since June 2013. As of June 27, 2014, the outbreak of H7N9 had caused 450 confirmed cases of human infection, with 165 deaths included. The case-fatality rate of all confirmed cases is about 36%, making the H7N9 virus a significant threat to people's health. At present, neuraminidase inhibitors are the only licensed antiviral medications available to treat H7N9 infections in humans. Oseltamivir is the most commonly used inhibitor, and it is also a front-line drug for the threatening H7N9. Unfortunately, it has been reported that patients treated with oseltamivir can induce R294K (Arg294Lys) substitution in the H7N9 virus, which is a rare mutation and can reduce the antiviral efficacy of inhibitors. Even worse, deaths caused by such mutation after oseltamivir treatment have already been reported, indicating that the need to find substitutive neuraminidase inhibitors for currently available drugs to treat drug-resistant H7N9 is really pressing.