In recent years, various models have been developed for describing the reaction mechanisms in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) especially for the cathode electrode. However, many fundamental issues regarding the transport of oxygen and electrode kinetics have not been fully understood. This review tried to summarize the present status of the SOFC cathode modeling efforts, and associated experimental approaches on this topic. In addition, unsolved problems and possible future research directions for SOFC cathode kinetics had been discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.