Abstract:Soil harbors an immense diversity and abundance of organisms, playing a vital role in ecosystem functions. Sensitive species within this soil biota can rapidly respond to changes in soil ecological conditions, making them crucial indicators for the assessment, maintenance, and enhancement of soil health. As an essential component of soil health evaluation systems, the development and application of soil biological indicators are often less frequent than physicochemical indicators, constrained by challenges in indicator selection, sample collection, and technical analysis. However, recent advancements in technologies for studying soil community structure and diversity have spurred growing interest in biological indicator-based soil health evaluation, making it a research hotspot. This article systematically reviewed the major types of soil organisms and representative species, introduced the commonly used soil biological indicators in current soil health assessments and their indicative functions, aiming to provide references for selecting biological indicators and constructing target data sets. Furthermore, the article discussed the main challenges currently facing the development of soil biological indicators and outlined their prospective applications in future soil health monitoring and management.