Abstract: Return of crop residue to the soil increases soil organic matter, and significantly improves soil fertility.Crop residue return also influences the soil microbial activities and soil carbon and nitrogen cycles, which supports the development of sustainable agricultural production.This review focused on two aspects:a) the characteristics of soil carbon turnover under residue return and associated research methods; b) the effects of straw return patterns(types of crop residues, different parts of residues, the amount of returned residue and the method of residue return) on soil organic carbon.Considering all of these factors together would help us fully understand the decomposition and transformation of returned residue in soils and its influence on soil carbon turnover.In future studies, more attention would be paid to improve the efficiency of residue returned.Combining the characteristics of residues with the soil environments would be essential in selecting the best way of returning residue for maximum improvement of soil fertility and crop growth.