Abstract:The interaction between mineral and microorganism is one of the most important ecological processes in soil system. The first step of microorganism-mineral interactions is the initial adhesion of microbes or biomolecules to soil minerals. As a physicochemical process, the initial adhesion was controlled by Lifshitz van der waals, electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, hydrogen bonding, as well as steric effect. The activities of microorganisms and extracellular biomolecules may subsequently be influenced after the attachments of microbial cells onto mineral surfaces. The effect of minerals on the activity of microorganisms or biomolecules may be positive, negative or neutral. This paper presents some recent advances on the interaction mechanisms of microbes with minerals especially the initial adhesion models such as surface free energy thermodynamics, DLVO theory, adsorption isotherms and surface complexation. The authors focus mainly on the interfacial and adhesion forces for the interaction between these inorganic and alive soil components. The environmental significances of these interactions are also discussed. Some modern molecular techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and microcalorimetry, which are powerful tools for probing biophysicochemical interactions between soil microorganisms and soil particles, are highlighted. A brief outlook is given on future studies that are needed in this intersect field.