Objectives: Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are pentacyclic triterpenoids with high structural variation in bacterial cell membranes. They are easy to preserve and less affected by diagenesis, and widely distribute in terrestrial and marine environments. In recent years, as a novel microbial biomarker, BHPs have shown great application potential in tracking organic matter source, environmental evolution and reconstructing paleoenvironment due to their specificity in bacterial origin and environmental response. It is expected to provide new indicators and new approaches for tracking the changes of the marine eco- environment.Methods: In this paper, we comprehensively analyzed the composition, distribution, and source of BHPs in soils, sediments, and seawaters according to the recent studies. We also evaluated the environmental indication of BHPs to organic matter sources, anoxic environment, anammox and aerobic methane oxidation processes and their application on marine eco- environmental reconstruction based on the characteristics of BHP composition. Results and Conclusions: The main compositions of BHPs in soils were aminotriol, BHT cyclitol ether, BHT and adenosylhopane, and while that in seawaters and sediments were BHT、BHT- Ⅱ and 2- MethylBHT. At spatial distribution, the diversity and content of BHPs in tropical and temperate regions are generally higher than those in frigid zone, and they also displayed a decreasing order from soils, rivers, coastal waters to open waters. An vertical distribution, BHPs have relatively high values at the hypoxic bottom waters of the coastal waters and minimum oxygen zone of the open areas. Soil marker BHPs in rivers and oceans were closely related to land- derived input and could be used to indicate the terrestrial organic matter inputs to the marine environment. BHT- Ⅱ was closely related to hypoxic/anoxic environment and anammox, which could not only trace the marine hypoxic/anoxic condition, but also indicate the intensity of the important nitrogen removal pathway, i.e., anammox. 35- amino- BHPs, in particular aminotetrol and aminopentol, are highly specific to the source of aerobic methanotroph and their contents increased with increasing abundance and activity of aerobic methanotroph. Thus 35- amino- BHPs could be used to indicate aerobic methane oxidation activity.