The history and advances of microbial geochemistry are elucidated in this article. Some microorganisms, including various kinds of bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa, can promote a lot of geological and geochemical processes. They play an important role in rock and mineral weathering, elements mobilization and accumulation, transformation of organic matter in sediments and mine formation and so on. They take part in the cycles of organic and inorganic matter and influence the composition of the atmosphere in respect to O 2, CO 2 and CH 4, then have exerted important controls on the distribution of matter in the upper lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and atmosphere. In the foreseeable future, merging of modern geochemistry with microbiology will inspire the development of geosciences and biosciences.