Industrial fermentation is the basic operation unit of industrial biotechnology in large-scale production. Mathematical simulation of microbial cells and their reactors will help deepen the understanding of microorganisms and fermentation processes, and will also provide solutions for the construction of new synthetic organisms. In this paper, the characteristics of industrial fermentation system, the development of mathematical simulation, the classification, characteristics and functions of mathematical models are described in depth, and the development trend of whole fermentation system simulation is prospected.