Abstract: As important final product of organic waste aerobic composting, humic substance (HS) is considered as a crucial index to assess composting process and its product maturity. HS contains various of functional groups, which bring significant agronomic benefits to crop and soil, such as nutrient reservoir, soil physical and chemical properties improvement. The research progress in recent years was summarized, including structure, formation way as well as regulation of HS development during aerobic composting. The effect of main physical-chemical parameters of aerobic composting, including raw materials type, bulking agent type, temperature, moisture content, C/N ratio, oxygen content, pH, porosity, on the formation and quality of HS was reviewed and discussed. The relationship between HS functional groups and its agronomic effects was also elaborated, including plant growth enhancement, water holding capacity improvement, disease suppression and nutrient preserving reinforce. Finally, the direction of further research was looked forward on the basis of current achievement. Probe into aggregate structure and chemical information of HS using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography and soft X-ray spectromicroscopy technology were proposed to facilitate deep analysis. On summary, the aim of this review is to provide the insight to understand the relationship between HS characteristic and beneficial functions to corresponding agronomic improvement to soil and crop.