Methane is the second important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide,and methane is about 28 - 34 folds more effective than CO_2 in trapping heat in the atmosphere on the molecule basis at the centennial-scale. Lakes are recognized as an important source of methane. The emission of methane from lakes is affected by its production and oxidation in lake sediments,which is an important component of the lake carbon cycle. In the paper,the procedures of methane production and oxidation in lake sediments were introduced,influencing factors and mechanisms were discussed,and the impacts of lake eutrophication and global warming to methane production and oxidation were summarized. Finally,we advised that the future work should emphasize on the combination of laboratory simulation and field observation,and study driving forces for methane production and oxidation from lake sediments at regional scale.