Plants can absorb and retain air particulate matters. They play an important role in reducing air pollution of particulate matters and improving air quality. Recently, studies on the plant adsorption function for sizefractionated airborne particulate matters have become a hotspot in the fields of urban ecology and environmental science. Beginning with the adsorption pathway and mechanism of the plants, this review elaborates the plant adsorption characteristics, temporal and spatial variation patterns for differentsized particles. We emphasize the analyses of crucial factors affecting particle-retaining capability, such as plant internal factors (surface property of plant leaves, plant species and their physical properties, plant community characteristics), the size and composition of air particulate matters and their pollution levels, and meteorological conditions (the velocity and direction of wind, precipitation, temperature and humidity). It is recognized that researches on adsorption mechanism and quantitative analysis methods should be strengthened in order to select and configure ideal plant species to remove particulate matters.