Abstract: Seed dormancy is an important part of plant adaptation and is regulated by many factors. With the development of transcriptome, proteomics, metabolomics and molecular biology, the molecular level of seed dormancy has been revealed, which is of great significance for the removal of seed dormancy. In this paper, various regulatory factors and environmental factors involved in the inducing and releasing seed dormancy, as well as the protective mechanisms of seed dormancy were reviewed, which provided a basis for the study of seed dormancy and germination.