Abstract: Zoobenthos is an important part in wetland ecosystem, and plays a connection link in energy flow and matter cycling. Its community structure can reflect the abiotic factors (e.g., bottom sediment condition, water quality, and water temperature) and biotic factors (e.g., vegetation, interactions between species, and predation pressure). This paper introduced the concept, life forms, and functional groups of zoobenthos, and discussed the features of the study on the ecology of zoobenthos as well as the related key research areas and important achievements in China, with the focus on the spatiotemporal difference in the distribution of zoobenthos community, relationships between zoobenthos and environmental factors, and indicative significance of zoobenthos as bio-indicator in water health. The future research directions on the ecology of zoobenthos in China were prospected.

Key words: Mountain yellow soil, Soil fertility, Plant community succession, Integrated soil fertility index