The conversion and utilization of natural gas is of significant meaning to the national economy,even to the everyday life of people. However, it has not become a popular industrial process as expected due to the technical obstacles. In the past decades, much investigation into the conversion of methane,predominant component of natural gas, has been carried out. Among the possible routes of methane conversion, the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas is considered as an effective and economically feasible one. In this article, a brief review of recent studies on the mechanism of the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas together with catalyst development is wherein presented.