Abstract: The advances in the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by oxidative carbonylation of methanol in liquid-phase are summarized，the structure characteristics as well as catalytic performance of various catalysts are presented in details. According to previous studies，the main demerit of equipment by the existing catalysts that easy deactivation and high corrosion can be avoided by using chloride-free active species，which should be considered as a new direction in the development of the next generation catalysts. Furthermore，designing and preparing catalysts based on the structure characteristics of CuⅠ active sites，regulating and controlling the amount，location and distribution along with improving the uniformity of active sites，and improving surface chemical properties of the catalytsts are expected to achieve desirable catalytic properties in the future.