Soil organic carbon(SOC),which closely related to soil fertility and climate change,is a hot topic in the field of soil science and other related one.Due to SOC is a mixture of a series of compounds with certain characteristics and have a highly heterogeneous,choosing a reasonable method is a key to distinguish the various carbon fractions in the further study of SOC.In this paper the traditional fractionation methods of SOC (including physical fractionation,chemical fractionation and biological fractionation) was reviewed firstly,and then physical-chemical fractionation method which was proposed by Stewart in recent years was introduced,finally the future trend of SOC fractionation method was discussed.