A system and method for localization of an autonomous vehicle based on 3D point cloud are disclosed. The system includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory tangibly storing thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive an initial position of a vehicle; receive a data file representative of a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud from a LIDAR scanning subsystem of the vehicle; divide the 3D point cloud into a plurality of tiles and compute a plurality of key points for each tile; generate an estimated low frequency 2D position and yaw angle for the vehicle based on a particle filter process and a dynamically downloaded 2D reference map; and generate a position and orientation of the vehicle.