Abstract: The field applications of phytoremediation on heavy metal contamination in soil rely on the discovery, screening and exploitation of metal hyperaccumulators, in which the genetic engineering has broad perspectives. The authors address the latest advances on phytoremediation for heavy metal contamination in soil, metal hyperaccumulators and their genetic engineering, and figure out the existing problems subsequently. To speed up the researches in China, several strategies have been suggested, including screening the metal hyperaccumulators with high biomass among the natural vegetation, screening the metal hyperaccumulators among crop varieties, transferring the metal-accumulating gene of wild hyperaccumulators to the potential crops by means of the genetic engineering, and finding an integrated and sustainable phytoremediation method.