Abstract: China is pivotal in determining the global nitrogen（N）balance in terms of nitrogen deposition. Multifarious anthropogenic perturbations，e.g. livestock and poultry breeding，N fertilizer application and fossil fuel combustion have been contributing substantial amounts of Nr emission as well as deposition. EU and US leading the field on assessment of N deposition and its environmental or economic consequences. Comparatively，the magnitude，spatial distribution and transportation patterns of the terrestrial nitrogen deposition in China remain uncertain and need to be investigated provincially and nationally. The atmospheric transport models（ATMs）are regarded as an economic and feasible instrument for the ability of characterizing and predicting nitrogen deposition. In response to the absence of a specialized N deposition model in China，we established an N-related deposition models（NDMs）information base，which covered all ATMs worldwide in which NH₃、NOx and SO₂ emission sources involved，aiming to present an comprehensive overview and critical discussion on the state of the science of NDMs. Theoretically，models’ validation and inter-comparison depend on the quantitative analysis of monitoring data against modeling data. However，the scarcity of unified monitoring network in China posed an insurmountable obstacle to implementation. In fact，the atmosphere is a complex and dynamic system that interacts significantly with the land，water body and plant canopy. It is noted that the NDMs to predict atmospheric concentration and deposition fields of nitrogen are subject to numerous constraints and uncertainties，e.g. meteorological field，circulation patterns and boundary layer height，which will influence the modeling performance more or less. Meanwhile，NH₃ raises additional demands on the models. Therefore，here we tentatively indicated the factors for the differences in models’ performance in terms of the model construction（focused on the grid size，vertical resolution，meteorological field access and the fundamental difference between Eulerian and Lagrangian models），modeling processes（of particular concerning emissions，dry deposition and diffusion）and R & D（Research and Development）original intentions（different initial purposes and priorities setting）. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative merits of NDMs in a qualitative way，screen out several sound modes for Chinese N deposition modeling at a provincial or national scale in the future.

Key words: atmospheric nitrogen deposition, numerical modeling, research progress, models&rsquo, screening