Abstract: Amino sugars have been used as the most important indicators for the presence of microbial residues in soil, and they are significant in turnover of microbial-derived soil organic matter and nutrient cycling as indicated by accumulation of microorganisms.This paper specified the practical applications of amino sugars to soil organic matter turnover and microbial communities in Mollisols, analyzed their stability mechanism and the response to agricultural management in Northeastern China.We also figured out some limitations by using amino sugars as an indicator as well.Finally, this paper suggested that in order to elucidate clearly the SOM turnover and restoration of Mollisols in Northeastern China, amino sugars should be investigated together with isotope tracer technique when necessary in the future.This review would benefit to the restoration of farmland productivity, and provide useful information for further understanding soil nutrient cycling and regulation mechanism.