Abstract:Microbially mediated denitrification in lacustrine ecosystems has profound impact on regional and even global environment and climate change. Thus, studying lake microbial denitrification process and rate helps us obtain comprehensive understanding of nitrogen biogeochemical cycle in lacustrine ecosystems and its role in the global nitrogen cycle. This review summarizes the denitrification processes, rates and involved microbial community compositions in lacustrine ecosystems and their influencing factors. The covered denitrification processes include typical denitrification processes and those coupled with other elemental cycles including co-denitrification coupled with organic nitrogen, nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic oxidization of methane coupled with carbon cycle, anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation coupled with iron cycle, nitrate/nitrite-dependent sulfide oxidation coupled with sulfur cycle. Finally, current researches and future directions related to denitrification processes in lacustrine environments were summarized.