Abstract: With the accomplishment of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequencing project,loss-of-function and gain-of-function mutants are widely used to study multifarious metabolisms in plants.It was used as an effective tool to understand molecular mechanisms of plant nutrition,consequently provide a facilities for utilizing genetic engineering to breed varieties adapting lean soil,saline soil,acid soil and heavy metal contaminated soil.This review focuses on the structure of T-DNA,the transformation process,the method to obtain flanking sequences,and the application of T-DNA insertion mutation in the research of plant nutrition.