Abstract:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with two or more benzene rings have caused serious environmental problems due to their carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic properties. Microbial degradation is one of the methods for the remediation of PAH contamination, offering advantages such as low costs, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Compared with single strains in degradation, mixed microbial consortia exhibit improved degradation performance, adaptability, and resistance to adverse conditions. This paper reviews various natural PAH-degrading mixed microbial consortia obtained from natural environments, as well as artificially constructed mixed microbial consortia based on the degradation capabilities or other characteristics of different individual strains. It also discusses the optimization methods for these consortia and the research progress in their application to the remediation of actual contaminated sites. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on the future development of mixed microbial systems for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.