Abstract: Nitrobenzene and its substituted compounds are a group of priority pollutants characterized by chemical stability, high toxicity, and biological accumulation. To treat the waste water and gas containing nitrobenzene and its substituted compounds and to remedy the environment polluted by these compounds, microbial degradation had advantages over other methods. This paper summarized the research advances in the microbial degradation of nitrobenzene and its substituted compounds by terms of the acclimation and screening of degradation strains, degradation pathways and mechanisms, co-metabolism, chemotaxis, and molecular genetics. Further studies should be made on the construction and application of engineering bacteria. In the microbial remediation of environment polluted by nitrobenzene and its substituted compounds, co-metabolism and synergetic degradation of co-strains would play an important role.

Key words: Hydrological scale, Scaling