Abstract: The origin and development of the concept of metabolism were reviewed,and the general characteristics and differences of connotation of metabolism were dissected from the perspective of different disciplines.Metabolism was divided into metabolism of organisms,metabolism of ecosystems and metabolism of socioeconomic systems.According to different research focuses and objectives,metabolism analysis was classified as either main body analysis or material flow analysis,and then further subdivided into organization metabolism,regional metabolism,substance analysis and material analysis.Following this,the applied scope and research targets of main metabolism analytical approaches were defined and compared.Based on the metabolism analytical framework,an integrated discussion of related research both at home and abroad was summarized.Finally,the problems and shortcomings of current research were evaluated,and the major fields and directions for further studies were proposed.