The kinetic models were developed and applied for fermentative hydrogen production. They were used to describe the progress of a batch fermentative hydrogen production process, to investigate the effects of substrate concentration, inhibitor concentration, temperatures, pH, and dilution rates on the process of fermentative hydrogen production, and to establish the relationship among the substrate degradation rate, the hydrogen-producing bacteria growth rate and the product formation rate. This review showed that the modified Gompertz model was widely used to describe the progress of a batch fermentative hydrogen production process, while the Monod model was widely used to describe the effects of substrate concentration on the rates of substrate degradation, hydrogen-producing bacteria growth and hydrogen production. Arrhenius model was used a lot to describe the effects of temperature on fermentative hydrogen production, while modified Han-Levenspiel model was used to describe the effects of inhibitor concentration on fermentative hydrogen production. The Andrew model was used to describe the effects of HI concentration on the specific hydrogen production rate, while the Luedeking-Piret model and its modified form were widely used to describe the relationship between the hydrogen-producing bacteria growth rate and the product formation rate. Finally, some suggestions for future work with these kinetic models were proposed. (C) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.