Abstract: Bryophyte is a group of the most sensitive indicator plants for air pollution monitoring. The application of bryophyte could help identify the pollution sources, indicate the deposition role of heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere and reflect the temporal and spatial change of the heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere. Based on the generalization of relevant researches both at home and in the world, this article summarized the studies on the indicating function of bryophyte to monitor heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere.