Special attention has been paid to three types of processes, that is, source process, removal process and internal cycling. Through the summary of literatures, the mechanisms of typical cycling processes, such as sediment release and denitrification, were discussed. The comparison of contributions of different cycling processes was listed as well. Moreover, the main research approaches of experiment and modeling in this field were well summarized and compared, raising a general framework for the study of nutrients cycling in lakes. With the purpose of looking into the cycling of nutrients, different approaches should be combined together. For example, mechanism models and observation for the mass balance of nutrients, then the microcosmic experiments for the impact factors of cycling processes. It is an efficient way to explore the cycling of nutrients in lakes.