Lake sediment is an important media for molecular organic chemistry research.It has the advantages such as storing large amount of information,high temporal resolution and wide geographical coverage. Since the 1980s,the sedimentary organic matter molecular geochemistry in the study of paleoclimate has played an irreplaceable role.The investigation of global change has focused on the fatty acid and its compound-specific carbon isotopic distribution.Using the methods of extensive search of literatures and summaries,we discussed the literatures of fatty acid and its compound-specific carbon isotopic distribution for the identification of organic matter resources,reconstruction of vegetation and recovery of paleovegetation and paleoclimate.The result shows that the lipid compound has some superpositions in source.The research of fatty acids can be the supplements of n-alknes.And the combination with the compound-specific characteristics of carbon isotopic can trace the organic matter accurately.It can not only reveal the climate and environment information stored in the terrestrial fatty acid but also provide important clues to indicate the climate and environmental changes.It has a broad application prospect in the reconstruction of vegetation,regional climate and environmental conditions.