Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the most active part of soil organic carbon (SOC). Although DOC only consists 0.04%–0.22% of SOC, its adsorption by the soil is considered to be the major process to preserve organic carbon in the subsoil. Thus DOC adsorption plays an important role in the research of global carbon cycle. This paper reviewed the kinetics, isotherm, influencial factors and mechanism of the adsorption behavior. The paper also put forward the attentions in future research for providing the basis for deeply understanding the DOC migration behavior.