Lycopene, which is a kind of important active compound of caroteinoids, is greatly beneficial to human health with its diverse biological functions. With the elucidation of lycopene biosynthetic pathway and cloning genes of relative enzymes from microorganisms, it is possible to regulate lycopene biosynthesis via genetic engineering. This article first reviewed the biosynthesis pathways of lycopene and gene cloning of lycopene biosynthetic enzymes in microorganisms, and then summarized the gene engineering strains documented in previous works including: E.coli and yeast constructed by genetic recombination, mold strains enhanced the ability of producing lycopene by gene manipulation. At last, by comparing the present methods, the problems existed in the process of construction were pointed out.