Abstract:Sediment contains the solid materials eroded, transported and deposited by different mechanisms; therefore the physical and chemical natures of sediment are strongly affected by the surrounding environments. Covered by water body, sediment is a special habitat for microbes, such as the existence of high pressure, low input of sunlight and low concentration of oxygen, etc. Diverse microorganisms live in sediment and they play important roles in the natural biochemical cycles and in the material exchanges between the water body and sediment. In contrast, the changes of water quality, such as water pollution and eutrophication, also alternate the microbial community in the sediment. Study of the microbial diversity is an important way to evaluate the water quality and to retrace the pollutant history of the water body. The study of sediment microbes is coming to the foundation of the research of biogeochemical cycles and will attract more and more attention in future. Detection and possession of the microbial species and their genomes have enlarged the cognitive scope for the microbes, and have provided novel bioresource for the technological application. In this review, the general characteristics of the sediment inhabit are described and methodology in the studies of microbial resources in sediment is summarized in the sections of (1) culture-independent methods to study the microbial diversity and distribution in sediment; (2) culture-dependent methods to study the microbial diversity in sediment; (3) the biochemical analyses to reveal the relationships among the microbial community and sediment features; and (4) the methods to explore the sediment microbes as potential bioresource in production of novel antibiotics and enzymes.