Abstract: Pervaporation，as a promising membrane separation technology，has shown great advantages on in-situ recovery of biofuel such as ethanol from the fermentation systems. In the fermentation process，the inhibition of ethanol on the microorganism activity could be reduced by removing ethanol through pervaporation，and the purity of ethanol could reach a high value via subsequent dehydration. The pervaporation technology for bioethanol recovery is reviewed in detail with emphasis on pervaporation membrane materials，integrated processes，recent applications and economic aspects; and the development trend is prospected.