Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been widely viewed as one of the most promising alternative sources of renewable energy. A recognition of needs of efficient development methods based on multidisciplinary research becomes crucial for the optimization of MFCs. Modeling of MFCs is an effective way for not only gaining a thorough understanding of the effects of operation conditions on the performance of power generation but also becomes of essential interest to the successful implementation of MFCs. The MFC models encompass the underlying reaction process and limiting factors of the MFC. The models come in various forms, such as the mathematical equations or the equivalent circuits. Different modeling focuses and approaches of the MFC have emerged. In this study, we present a state of the art of MFCs modeling; the past modeling methods are reviewed as well. Models and modeling methods are elaborated on based on the classification provided by Mechanism-based models and Application-based models. Mechanisms, advantages, drawbacks, and application fields of different models are illustrated as well. We exhibit a complete and comprehensive exposition of the different models for MFCs and offer further guidance to promote the performance of MFCs.

微生物燃料电池（MFCs）已被广泛认为是最有前途的可再生能源的替代来源之一。基于多学科研究的有效开发方法需求的认识对于MFC的优化至关重要。MFC的建模不仅是一种全面了解操作条件对发电性能的影响的有效方法，而且对成功实施MFC至关重要。MFC模型涵盖了MFC的潜在反应过程和限制因素。这些模型有多种形式，例如数学方程式或等效电路。MFC的不同建模重点和方法已经出现。在这项研究中，我们介绍了MFCs建模的最新技术。回顾了过去的建模方法。基于基于机制的模型和基于应用程序的模型提供的分类，详细阐述了模型和建模方法。还说明了不同模型的机制，优点，缺点和应用领域。我们对MFC的不同模型进行了完整而全面的阐述，并提供了进一步的指导来提高MFC的性能。