Abstract: Straw returning was an effective way to utilize straw resource. While playing an important role in the decomposition of straw and nutrient cycling, soil microbes were also subject to influences from straw. This paper summarized studies on effects of straw returning on soil microbes from the perspective of returning techniques, additives, returning amounts, farming system and transgenic straw. The existing research literature mostly focused on soil microbial biomass. However, there was no concurrent conclusion and there were few reports on soil microbes’long-term dynamics or functional groups. Therefore, future research should focus on following issues: actual status of soil microbes, which should be revealed by utilizing better methods; dynamic study of soil microbes throughout the whole process of decomposition; effects of straw returning on soil microbes studied at the level of functional group; varies methods and long term observation for the study on the effects of transgenic straw on microbes.