The efficient uptake and utilization of nutrients by crops is a core link to achieve agricultural green development，and precise fertilization can coordinate the crop demand and soil supply of nutrients to maximize efficiency.Starter fertilizer is a strategy for precise fertilization in the seedtime of crops.For when crops are planted in early spring，the soil temperature is low and the nutrient flow is slow，low validity.which leads to failure to meet pre-crop nutrient requirements.The use of starter fertilizer to form high-concentration available nutrient patches near seeds stimulates the growth of plant roots at the seedling stage，realizes local rhizosphere regulation，and produces a cascade amplification effect，which quickly helps plants to establish a healthy shoot and root system.At the same time，the biological interaction is stimulated to provide support for the efficient utilization of nutrients and stable high yield.This paper reviewed the research on starter fertilizer at home and abroad in recent years，systematically analyzed the efficiency principle of starter fertilizer，discussed the advantages brought by the combination of starter fertilizer and mechanized agricultural machinery.Hence，future research directions and emphases of starter fertilizer were proposed:1)Designing starter fertilizer products based on the“ rhizobiont”；2)Establishing automatic and intelligent starter fertilizer precise control technical regulations combined with agricultural machinery technology；3)Using big data and artificial intelligence algorithms to optimize the application technology and management system of starter fertilizer products.