With its advantages of high efficiency, high selectivity and broad spectrum, diphenyl ether herbicides have become a class of herbicides with a wide range of applications, numerous types and huge amounts of use worldwide. The massive and unregulated use of diphenyl ether herbicides has led to their accumulation in soil and water bodies, altering the structure of soil microbial communities and causing huge economic losses by causing damage to sensitive crops in subsequent crops. Meanwhile, it will also accumulate in the food chain, inducing potential hazards to non-target organisms such as aquatic animals and human beings. Therefore, the importance of developing green removal strategies for diphenyl ether herbicides in polluted environments is increasing. Currently, microbial degradation technology has a broad application prospect due to its simple operation, safety and less likely to cause secondary pollution. A variety of Pseudomonas and Bacillus species have been found to efficiently degrade diphenyl ether herbicides, but fewer studies have been conducted on fungi and actinomycetes. Based on this, this paper summarizes the characteristics of the diphenyl ether herbicide family, the mechanism of toxicity. Microbial resources for degrading diphenyl ether herbicides, degradation pathways and the molecular biological basis of the degradation process are outlined. The aim of this paper is to have a more comprehensive understanding of diphenyl ether herbicides and to provide a research direction for in-depth study of treatment strategies for diphenyl ether herbicide residues in the real environment and discovery of more relevant biodegradable resources.