The properties of soil and fertilizer affecting sulfur oxidation were reviewed to further solve the problem of low sulfur oxidation rate in soil，and to provide theoretical basis for the development of high efficiency sulfur fertilizer. Plant demand for sulfur is increasing. Sulfur is a necessary nutrient element for crops，it’s used to synthesize many proteins and amino acids， and has a great impact on the yield and quality of plants. It also plays a huge role in controlling pests and improving soil properties. Due to atmospheric subsidence，runoff loss，and excessive application of nitrogen，phosphorus and potassium fertilizers，the incidental input of sulfur is reduced and the amount of crop absorption is increased，and the supply and demand of sulfur content in soil is unbalanced. Therefore，the addition of sulfur fertilizer has become the mainstream trend in the future. The sulfur in existing sulfur fertilizers is mainly composed of two forms，namely，elemental sulfur and combined sulfate. Sulfur is cheap and easy to obtain，and can produce acid in the oxidation process to improve the pH of alkaline soil. In order to conduct more scientific research on the development and design of sulfur fertilizer，it is necessary to systematically review the main oxidation factors of sulfur in soil（microorganisms，pH，temperature，humidity，particle size）. The main conclusions were as follows：The oxidation effect of microbial activity on sulfur was much greater than that of quantity. Therefore，soil pH，temperature and humidity that affect microbial activity were extremely important factors，and there was no absolute conclusion on the role of microbial species in the proportion. Most studies showed that the sulfur oxidation rate decreased with the decrease of soil pH，and the sulfur oxidation rate was the fastest when the soil moisture was close to the field water capacity at 30-40℃ . The inverse relationship between sulfur particle size and oxidation rate was confirmed，the essence of which was that microorganisms colonization on the surface area of fertilizer particles played a leading role，and affected by diffusion in the soil. Powdered sulfur was easier to oxidize than granular sulfur.