Abstract: Intercultural theory has always been a paradigm to reflect on cultural diversity and a strategy and wisdom to cope with cultural differences during the process of glocalizationa nd lobaization. Based on the theoretical review of interculturality, this article argues that intercultural phenomenon is the cognitive object of intercultuality. And it reveals the essence of intercultural relations and advocates intercultrualism in cultural and political practice. Intercultural, interculturality and interculturalism are three key terms to recognize the intercultural relations and are the core essences of intercultural theory which adopts a dialectical view on cultural diversity. On the one hand, intercultural theory acknowledges and accepts the fact that cultural diversity prevalently since it is a common heritage and precious wealth of humankind; one the other hand, intercultural theory takes cultural diversity as cultural barrier that need to overcome and deal with the intercultural paradox of how to live with differences in the context of coexistence in a multi-cultural world. Intercultural theory reveals the intrinsic inter-characteristics of diversity including otherness and sameness, relationality and interactivity, and helps to establish the formula for how to live with differences in hyper-diverse areas. Interculturality serves as a prerequisite for recognizing the diversity, respecting otherness, seeking sameness that whether culture can coexist with the same meaning of the intercultural characteristics, and revealing the inter-relatedness in the context in which intercultural encounter commits to strengthen the interaction between the heterogeneous cultures in the premise of mutual subjectivity. The enlightenment of intercultural theory on social & cultural geography can be applied in the research on intercultural situation, space (place) thinking, race and ethnic geography, indigenous geographies, geographies of identity and intercultural city. Intercultural theory pioneers a more academic space, offers a broad field of vision and new dimension of intercultural relations to the research on social & cultural geography.