Abstract:Maotai-flavor liquor，a traditional fermented drink in China，is characterized by lingering mellow soy sauce-like aroma.Its unique quality is attributed to the microorganisms in the brewing microecology.Yeast is one of the three major microbial groups for the fermentation of Maotai-flavor liquor，which makes great contributions to yield，flavor，and quality of the liquor.This study summarized the diversity，structure，and main functions of yeasts for the fermentation of Maotai-flavor liquor，and dissected the fermentation mechanism and perfuming mechanism of Maotai-flavor liquor from the perspective of yeast metabolites.Moreover，the contributions of functional yeast to ethanol yield and soy sauce-like aroma of Maotai-flavor liquor in production were introduced.In addition，it was concluded that there were a few studies on the yeast in Daqu at high temperature and the correlation between yeast and other brewing microorganisms or the environment.This study was expected to lay a theoretical basis for the science-based production of Maotai-flavor liquor.