Soil seed bank constitutes all diverse seeds presented on or in soil and the associated litters. It is not only a basis of plant population establishment, survival, reproduction or dispersal, but also plays an important role in vegetation regeneration, succession and restoration. This paper summarized some hot topics and trends in the studies of soil seed bank, which included: 1) research methods of soil seed bank, 2) soil seed bank characteristics of invasive plants, 3) relationships among seed rain, soil seed bank and the related standing vegetation, 4) roles of soil seed bank in vegetation restoration of degraded ecosystems and biodiversity conservation, 4) effects of soil erosion on soil seed bank, 5) influences of global change on soil seed bank. Meanwhile, some related research progress was reviewed with an attempt to provide references for future research of this area.