In recent years, due to the eutrophication of water polluted by human, the area of anoxic zone had been increasing. Using the redox sensitive elements in sediments to indicate the anoxia of water environment has become a hot research field in marine chemistry field. This paper expounded the enrichment mechanisms of redox sensitive elements in details and summarized a series of indicators reflecting the status of redox conditions of water environment, such as Re/Mo, Cd/U, Th/U, V/Sc ratio, U—Mo covariation, SymboldA@ 98/95 Mo, multi- indicator trace element model, redox sensitive elements—organic matter covariation model and so on, according to the enrichment levels of redox sensitive elements in sediments under different redox conditions. The Re, Mo content, Re/Mo ratio, authigenic Mo/U ratio, and Th/U ratio distinguish well between anoxic and oxidative conditions of the upper water, and can quantitatively indicate the redox condition of the upper water body. The Re content in the sediment with approximately 1 ng/g (the crust value), Mo content higher than 1μg/g (the crust value), Re/Mo ratio closed to 0.3×10 -3 , Mo—U enrichment coefficient ratio with (0.1~0.3) × modern seawater, Th/U ratio higher than 2, can indicate oxidation environment in overlaying water and surface sediment. The Re content about 10~30 ng/g, the Mo content with approximately 1μg/g, the Re/Mo ratio between 10×10 -3 and 30×10 -3 , the Mo—U enrichment factor ratio higher than 1 × modern seawater, and the Th/U ratio in the range of 0~2, can indicate anoxic environment, while Re content higher than 30 ng/g, Mo enrichment reaching 20~40μg/g, Re/Mo ratio closed to 0.7×10 -3 (Re/Mo ratio in seawater), Mo—U enrichment factor ratio about (3~10)× modern sea water, can indicate the sulfurized environment. Mo EF vs. U EF diagram and redox sensitive element—organic matter covariation model indexes can be qualitatively used to analyze the anoxic condition of the upper water body, but V/(V+Ni) ratio is not suitable for the indication of sub- anoxic sediment. For Cd/U index, there are still many problems in the mechanism of Cd/U value variation under hypoxic conditions, which requires further study. The application of redox sensitive elements can be affected by the factors including biological disturbance, diagenesis, human pollution, water restriction, cycle of Fe, Mn oxides and high organic carbon flux, which influence the enrichment and migration of redox sensitive elements in sediments. Hence, the effects of non- authigenic elements such as adsorption on organic matter and terrestrial input should be eliminated, and various indicators should be used to confirm each other and to identify the redox status of the water environment.