Abstract: It is wided confirmed that fine roots play significant roles in carbon budget and nutrient cycling of forest ecosystems. Trees are dependent on fine roots for uptakes of nutrients and water,while fine roots are sensitive to environmental stress. Therefore fine root dynamics is one of important indicators for changing environment and tree health. Based on a huge literature, fine root distribution, biomass, production and turnover of trees in relations to such environmental factors as soil nutrient, moisture, pH, temperature and atmospheric CO2, etc., were discussed in the paper, aiming to provide Chinese colleagues with references for fine root ecological studies in China.