Abstract: Pollen is the foundation of plant reproduction, and successful release of pollen is essential for plant reproduction. Due to the complexity and the diversity of the process of pollen release in papilionaceous plants, the picture of the physiological and the mechanical mechanisms in pollen release is still incomplete. In this paper, the mechanism of pollen release in papilionceous plants is reviewed. The pollen release in papilionceous plants is a complex process, which includes a physiological process (internal release) and a mechanical (or physical) process (extrinsic release). The physiological process of pollen release includes anther formation and anther dehiscence. The formation of viable pollen depends on accurate execution of developmental programmes, and the tapetum cells are essential for the development of the pollen grain. In the case of anther dehiscence, four types of anther wall have been observed in papilionaceous plants including basic type, monocotyledonous type, dicotyledonous type and reduced type. The mechanical process of pollen release shows that there are four patterns in papilionaceous plants: the explosive model, piston model, brush model, and valvular model. Comparisons of pollination efficiency made between these models, showed that the piston and valvular models may be the two basic evolutionary branches of pollen release in papilionaceous plants. The spatial and temporal patterns of pollen release are still a hotspot of evolution in papilionaceous plants and are related to flower morphology, pollination biology and mating system.