Abstract:As the main source of anthropogenic methane emission,landfills globally produce 35-69 Tg methane per year. The technology of reducing the methane emission in landfills has become a hot topic at present. Methanotrophic bacteria decomposing methane are the important biological collection to reduce atmospheric methane emissions,which is of significance in keeping the balance of the methane concentration in the atmosphere. Starting from the taxonomy and characteristics of methanotrophic bacteria,and the mechanism of its oxidizing methane,we summarized the latest research progress on the methods of studying diversity,factors affecting the activities of methanotrophic bacteria in landfills,and applications of them in the biological reduction of methane emission. Based on the prior researches,the issues in current studies of methanotrophic bacteria are also discussed. We propose comprehensive measures of utilizing the complex microbial agents of methanotrophic bacteria in landfills,providing a new thought in the research and application of reducing methane emission in landfills.