Gamma-aminobutyric acid （GABA） is a four carbon and non-protein amino acid with broad application prospects in food， agriculture， medicine， chemical and other fields. The production of GABA with microbial methods has been received increasing attention due to its advantages of mildness and sustainable development. Therefore， this article systematically introduced the methods of producing GABA， the biosynthetic pathways in organisms， and the progress in studying the microbial production of GAB to achieve an environment-friendly， convenient， and more efficient method of producing GABA that meets the strict requirements for additives in the food， pharmaceutical， and animal husbandry industries. It summarized the current level of whole-cell catalysis and de novo microbial synthesis of GABA. Researchers are committed to screening and optimizing enzymes with high efficiency and stability of catalysis， and improving the efficiency of synthesizing GABA by finely regulating the metabolic pathways of microorganisms. Studies in the future need to optimize the performance of enzymes and strains， reduce costs of production， and explore pathways for industrialized production at larger scale.