The fermentative production of L-glutamate is by far the largest among the amino acids commercially produced. L-glutamate is also the largest fermentation product in China in terms of the production scale. With the rapid development in synthetic biotechnology, production equipment and process technologies, the performance of industrial strains and the production technology of L-glutamate have been advanced remarkably in recent years. By analyzing the current situation of L-glutamate industry and the demand for innovation of key technologies, this review summarizes the research progress of L-glutamate production strains and technologies, as well as the development of other key technologies in L-glutamate production and industrial application.